The Golden Years
by LadyDeathwish
Summary: Probably about as AeriSeph you'll ever get out of me. Spawned from the idea that Zack would try to hook the two up to help out his dark and brooding 'battle buddy'. Takes a few interresting and comedic twists and turns along the way.
1. Bright beginnings

I walked into the nicest restaurant I had seen in my life. The floor was white and black tile, patterened like a chessboard, the tables and every surface in sight was smooth and scratch-free. The place had an overall air of cleanliness to it - Somewhere even Tseng would dare visit for food. I inwardly scowled at the Mako-powered bulbs overhead, giving everything a very slight blue hint to it. Glancing around I noticed a red-haired Turk, obviously smashed, look up out of mild interest, then make friends with the table he sat infront of. His bald friend took a small sip of his drink. It was then that our waitress interrupted my thoughts.

"Hello! My name is Taela, I'll be your server this evening. Table for three?" she smiled, picking up our menus for us. She was wearing a loose pale blue shirt with her sleeves rolled up and the cleanest white apron I've ever seen. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a lazy bun with some loose curls hanging from it.

"Yes ma'am." My raven-haired Soldier friend chirped.

She took us to a booth not too far from the Turks' table and passed out our menus and utensils. "So, can I start you off with a round of drinks?"

"Just a soda is fine." My silver-haired escort ordered, not looking up from the menu he now scoured.

"Do you have strawberry milkshakes?" I asked. She nodded. "I'd like one of those please."

"I want the strongest drink you have in the house!" The waitress' smile widened at Zack's enthusiasm. I let out a nervous giggle. Sephiroth's shoulders sank, with a clear 'It's gunna be one of those nights' look painted on his face.

"And are you ready to order some appetizers, or should I give you a minute?" she asked.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a garden salad."

"And what dressing would you like?"

"Wutaian."

"Alright. And for you gentlemen?"

"We're fine, thank you." Zack looked like he was going to say something, but Sephiroth cut him off short.

Taela smiled once more before scurrying off to fetch our drinks. After a moment Zack set down his own menu. He was looking at the steaks. "So, that's an interesting choice for a salad dressing." It was a pretty sad attempt at starting a conversation, but I smiled and decided to try and help him out a bit.

"It's an acquired taste. A friend of mine got me into it. It's very spicy."

* * *

After his about eighth or ninth round, Zack finally collapsed onto the table. Sephiroth nudged him a couple times before stating openly. "Yep. He's out." I giggled, still a bit nervous. "Uhm, Aeris, mind if I sit next to you while he's like this?" 

"Uh, sure."

"Thanks." I moved further into the booth to make some room for him to sit. "It's just that, while he's passed out, he'll randomly lash out with his hands. You see, once I was sitting next to him, he unconsciously reached up and grabbed my hair, then slammed my face into the table."

"Oh my goodness!"

"Bastard broke my nose."

Taela came up behind us then, resting her arm on the back of the booth and wheeling around. "Are you guys- Oh my, is he going to be okay??"

"He'll be fine, he just needs a minute."

"Can I get him anything?"

"If he gets up before we leave, he'll have a coffee. Black."

"Alright. Now, you two; would you like to see our dessert menu?"

Sephiroth looked over at me. "Oh, I'm fine thanks." I said.

"Me too. Could we get the bill?"

"Sure thing. Would you like to seperate it into different cheques, or...?"

"One bill please, we'll figure it out in the morning."

She nodded and scurried off towards the bar to print off our bill. Sephiroth noticed this too. "Huh. She could've gone to her other tables first, there's really no hurry."

"It's probably because you're a celebrity." I provided.

"I never asked to be."

In a moment she was back. "Here you are!" Sephiroth took the paper from her and looked it over briefly. I noticed the number at the bottom was a fair amount, then scoured my bag for my money. When I looked up she was thanking him profusely.

"Do you mind if we just sit here for a while, or do you need the table?"

"N-no no, stay as long as you like! Thank you!"

"Don't worry about it. Shinra pays me too much anyway."

After thanking him several times more, she excused herself to go to her other tables. "Uh, thank you for that, though I could pay you back-"

"No, don't worry about it."

"So... About not wanting to be a celebrity."

"I swear by the ancients, sometimes I wish I could just dissapear from the public."

"Hey, we could go switch clothes! Nobody would ever recognise us."

He openly laughed at that, and didn't stop for a full minute. "Sorry, but there is _no way_ I'm going anywhere in a dress, least of all a pink one. I'll leave that for someone more secure in his manhood, thank you."

Just then Zack's left hand reached out at the air to where Sephiroth's head would be had he not moved, then fell to the table. Sephiroth's hand reflexively jumped to his nose as his silver eyebrows met in a clearly annoyed expression. I laughed, then involuntarily yawned. I drank the remnants of my milkshake to keep myself awake.

"Tired?"

"Just a little."

He looked over at the clock. "It's almost eleven. Do you want me to take you home?"

"I'm okay to stay a bit longer if you like."

"Won't your mother worry?"

"Oh, Elmyra's not my mother, and I stay out late all the time. She worries, but she'll get over it."

"She's not your mother? Who is she then, a roommate?"

"No no, see... I was orphaned when I was really young."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's ok. Elmyra took me home and adopted me. She's my 'mother' relationship-wise, in that she takes care of me, but I don't call her that out of respect for my real mother."

"I guess I can understand that."

A yawn took me by surprise again, and was shared by Sephiroth. I leaned back and I didn't understand how cramped it was with him next to me until I found his arm behind me. I guess he took it as a sign to snuggle or something, because he awkwardly took me by the shoulder and pulled me to lean on his chest. We stayed like that for hours.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" 

"I'm fine. I carry him home like this all the time. Consider it strength training."

Sephiroth had managed to haul Zack's unconscious body onto his back.

"Geez, you train all the time? When do you get out?"

"When Zack drags me by the hair." He gave the slightest traces of a smile. He paused for a moment, considering something, before finally saying. "Hey, sorry if I bored you tonight. I'm... not the most social creature."

"No no it's okay, I had fun." I smiled my best and linked arms with him. We then walked past a large house with an open backyard and an inground pool clearly visible. "Hey, speaking of fun... Come here."

"Hmm?"

I gently pulled him by the arm in the desired direction and showed him my find. "Put him down, I'll grab his legs and we'll swing him into it."

"So we're going to throw him bodily into some stranger's pool."

"Yes."

"Something Zack would do to me in a heartbeat."

"Of course!" I beamed.

"It's genius." He grinned the most charming and tastefully malicious grin I've ever seen.

Sephiroth let him down, and I grabbed Zack by the ankles. On a count of three, and a large splash later, we had a very soggy Zack gripping the edge of the pool screaming "_I'm sober! I'm sober!!_"

"And you owe me for dinner." Sephiroth stood towering over Zack at the edge of the pool, arms folded, a very contented smirk crossing his face.


	2. Secrets and lies

"She's _fifteen_!?" He raised his sword.

Zack laughed and lazily parried the equally lazy swing of the Masamune. "She's cute though, right? Come on."

"I'm a damn cradle-robber." He muttered as he made a low swing.

"You're still nineteen." Zack parried that aswell, and gave a lazy swing of his own.

"I'm turning twenty in three months." Sephiroth parried Zack's blow before relaxing his sword. "Ugh, I feel so filthy."

"Why? What happened when I passed out?"

"Nothing!" He answered with a vicious swing aimed at Zack's neck. Zack parried it, aswell as two more he found himself on the recieving end of.

Zack grinned broadly. "Did you kiss her?"

"_What??_ Why would that be any of your-"

"Hey, I did hook you up, right? So did you kiss her?"

"No." He scowled. "You know, I never asked you to 'hook us up' in the first place."

"So it's an 'us' now, is it?"

"_Will you shut up and listen for one second??_ I went out with you two purely for lack of anything better to do. We talked, we ate, and we dragged _your_ sorry drunk ass home. Nothing became of it, is that clear?"

"Hey, I'm cool with that. Whether or not you consider it a date, though, I want details."

"_Why??_"

"Hey, just because _you're_ doomed to be a loner doesn't mean I have to be. What is her favourite thing to recieve as a gift?"

"Damnit Zack, we didn't talk about stupid stuff like that."

"Then what _did_ you talk about?"

"..."

"Well?"

"Zack, I have a mission for the both of us."

"What?? Now? Wait, are you trying to get rid of me again, like that time you got your hand stuck in-"

"No. Something I didn't think about before. Last night, when we first walked into the bar, she noticed a couple of Turks right away, I saw her look over at them. She's a fan of Wutaian foods because of a 'friend'. She used to go to private school until recently, which is why she was able to dine with us, yet she lives below the plate in the slums. And she was orphanned at a young age for some unspecified reason."

"So the objective is to find out who her friend is?"

"No, that I have a pretty good idea of. What bothers me is why she's in hiding. Or feels she has to hide."

"Objective: Discover the Flower Girl's big dirty secret. Gotcha."

* * *

This was perfect. The Ancient had discovered boys. Most of all, _his_ golden boy, his secret pride and glory all these years. This never would've happened if he hadn't torn him from that meddling woman. Everything was going according to plan, twenty years in the making. And here, he passed the boy in the hallway.

"... Bonus points if you get her pregnant."

"There is something fundamentally _wrong_ with you, little man." Sephiroth glared down at the wretched man in white.

Hojo stalked off, hands clasped behind his back, cackling like the looney everyone in the Shinra building knew he was.

* * *

The pen was angrily thrown across the table. It would've hit my friend in the forehead had he not reflexively caught it.

"When am I _ever_ going to need to know the length of the side of a triangle by the angles closest to it!?"

"Patience, Aeris. This is part of the curriculum, you know." He set down the pen and slid it back across the table to me. "And the reasoning for it is so that if you only know the length of the one side-"

"Why not just take the length of the side I do know and divide it into simpler units, then use a ratio to find the missing sides?"

That made him pause for a moment. "Well, I suppose that could work in theory..."

"See? I know stuff!" I huffed proudly.

"... But the easiest way to do it accurately is by using sine, cosine and tangent."

"Easy my skinny little-"

The doorbell rang. I quietly yet hurriedly closed the textbook and gathered the papers I was working on. He grabbed our teacups and plunked them into the bubble-filled sink, while moving his chair to rest against the wall. Elmyra scurried down from upstairs while we scurried up two steps at a time, and I laid on my stomach at the top of the stairs, out of sight but clearly able to hear. The doorbell rang again.

"Just one minute! I'm doing dishes and need to dry my hands!" Elmyra called, taking bubbles from the sink and wetting her apron with them, then picked up a drying cloth to carry to the door. She opened it with a "Yes, can I help you?"

"Hi ma'am, is Aeris home?"

"I think you have the wrong house, there's no one by that name-"

"I mean no disrespect, but I'm _pretty_ sure I have the right place."

There was a confused pause, then; "Oh! You're one of the boys that was here last night! Come inside." I heard a low 'Thank you' from him, his heavy footsteps entering my home, and the door closing behind him. "Aeris honey, come on down. It's your friend Zack!"

"Zack, from Soldier?" My partner in crime inquired in a low voice. I smiled and nodded my response before rising to my feet and walking downstairs, signalling him to stay there.

"I'm coming!" I said cheerfully as ever. After all, it wasn't like I was harbouring a fugitive or anything. Upon seeing him I smilled broadly. "Hi Zack. How are you feeling today?"

"Still a little dazed, but overall okay."

"That's good. Here, have a seat." I went over and pulled the chair away from the wall and set it down at the table for him. I took a seat across from him. "So, what brings you here today?"

"Well, first off, I was wondering if you'd come to dinner with us again?"

"I'd love to, I had a great time."

"I hope I wasn't too bad, I'm usually much better when under the influence."

"Hmm. About that," I grinned slyly. "Next time, I will make you eat an entire loaf of bread before we walk in the place." I waved a finger at him.

"Oh come on! Was I really that terrible?"

"Well, I wouldn't say terrible, but Sephiroth certainly had a lot to say about you while you 'under the influence'. Did you really break his nose?"

"He'll never let me live that down. Say, what did you two chatter on about last night? Heard you got home at two in the morning."

"Oh, just stuff. He said he hated being treated like a celebrity, so I suggested we switch clothes-"

"Wait wait wait, _you_ said something kinky like that and I _missed_ it?"

I turned red and buried my face in my arms, giggling like a madwoman. After a moment I looked up and tried to justify myself. "Nonononono, I just meant-"

He laughed. "So, about staying out until two in the morning..." I grinned and looked away. "What? What was that?"

"Oh, nothing!"

"No seriously, what happened?"

"He'll kill me if I ever told you."

"Now I _have_ to know."

"Well... About when you passed out, he switched spots to sit next to me, for fear of you smashing his face on the table again. After a short while I felt myself getting tired, so I leaned back and he put his arm around me. We kinda snoozed like that for a while."

It was Zack's turn to giggle insanely. "And he claims to have not a single romantic bone in his body, no wonder he wouldn't tell me. So... Did he kiss you?"

Elmyra dropped a metal teapot on the floor at this, making a loud clang. I blushed and answered honestly: "Nope. We left, threw you into a pool, and went our seperate ways." I could hear a small sigh of relief from the direction of the kitchen sink.

"Mmhmm. I kinda figured he wouldn't have the guts to do it." I blushed profusely. "Say, would you be on for Friday? There's some kinda Shinra company thing going on, and we're each allowed one guest..."

I felt myself getting tense at the mention of Shinra, but I think I masked it well. I know Elmyra would have words with me later. "Uhm, I'll need to think about it. What is it exactly?"

"A dance on the sixty-first floor."

"They're letting civilians past floor sixty now?" I asked incredulous, then I froze as I realized what I had just said. "I mean... I heard that it's rare for non-employees to get past even the first floor, let alone all the way up to sixty-one." It was a pathetic save, but I'm sure he bought it. I think.

"Yeah, it's some supposed morale-boosting thing. I heard talk about lots of events for the staff like this to be coming up in the next few months. So, will you come?"

"I said I'll consider it. Why don't you or Sephy stop by tomorrow afternoon and I'll give you my answer then? If my answer is yes, that gives me time to get a dress together."

"Sounds like a plan. We'll catch you then."

He rose from his seat and threw me a dashing smile before he waved and left my house. I got up after he left and watched him walk down the path through the window until I couldn't see him anymore. I sighed, and snapped my fingers three times, signalling Tseng that it was safe and his coworker was gone. He slowly came downstairs, his face with highlights of concern and distress in his eternally-solemn face that only a master of Tseng-ism's could pick out.

"I wasn't informed of this party," he stated. "And it seems rather unlike any of the higher-ups to authorise this sort of thing."

"So... Do you think I should go?" I asked sweetly.

"Now wait a minute young lady..." Elmyra attempted to intervene.

"Yes, I know it sounds dangerous..."

"It sounds like a trap." Tseng interrupted sharply.

"... What do you think I should say?"

"For now, say no. I'm going to look into this tonight, find out what's really going on. I don't like this at all. I'll try to get an answer for you tomorrow morning." He bowed and made his way out of my house, taking a sidepath in the back that would lead him away from any prying eyes around.

Elmyra stood and stared at me, arms crossed. "You know, I could technically ground you for the evening."

"But would I listen?"

She hesitated, then sighed, and I gave her a big hug. "I just can't forget how I first came to have you here, sweetie, and I can't in good conscience see you walk back into the very building your mother..."

I rubbed her back. "I know, I know. There's a lot of risk involved. Maybe Tseng can go to the dance and make sure nothing happens to me, plus I'll have two Soldiers catering to me. Please trust me when I say that I am considering everything and I won't go if there's too much risk."


	3. Know your enemy

Sephiroth was leaning against the wall in the training room, arms folded, brooding over something, facial expression set and unchanging like a stone gargoyle. He only reacted when Zack approached.

"Well?" he asked expectantly.

"It was... I dunno, weird." Zack began, moving to lean against the wall next to Sephiroth. "When I first rang the doorbell and her mother answered, she acted like Aeris didn't even exist. It wasn't until I insisted that I had the right house that she called her down." Sephiroth nodded, silently affirming something in his mind. "Then when I was talking about the dance thing, I mentionned it was on the sixty-first floor and she was shocked that they were letting civilians into the building past the sixtieth floor."

"So she's been in the Shinra building before..." Sephiroth voiced.

"What do you think that means?" Zack inquired.

"She's clearly hiding from Shinra, but I still don't know why. She sells flowers she grows herself and has her 'mother' buy food and the fabric for her clothes with the money, so few civilians even know she exists. Taking that and the fact that she's never been on a train in her life keeps her _completely_ off the radar. I'm willing to bet she only attended that private school under a false name, aswell."

"That's pretty intense. You think you know someone..."

"Do you think she'll come tomorrow night?"

"She said she would consider it."

"I'm almost certain she'll say no, but if she does come, you and I have to keep a constant eye on her. I'll see about hiring the Turks to do the same."

* * *

Tseng came early the next morning and informed us that apparently this was the president fulfilling one of Reeve's requests from months ago. He warned me against going still, even though he himself was apparently ordered to attend, including the rest of the Turks. Nevertheless, I decided to go to the dance anyway, and spent the rest of the morning working on my new dress. After all, I was only ever going to be a teenager once.

But it didn't stop me from being _very_ nervous. After all, this had 'bad idea' written all over it, though at the time I was too naive to care.

* * *

_Why did I let him talk me into this?_ I had to ask myself. I am not a social creature. I don't have time to build relationships. Yet here I am about to knock on the door of a young woman I barely know and ask her to a dance. I added "Find and Maim Zack" to my mental list of things to do. He had it coming; he still owed me fifty gil for his recent binge, after all.

I gave three solid knocks on the door. There was a slight shuffling, then I noticed Aeris looking through the left one of the narrow windows to the sides of the door from a ways inside. She was a lot taller than before, I noted.

"Come in!" she beckoned.

I carefully opened the door and the first thing I noticed was Aeris standing on the table in the center of the room. She was wearing a green dress I surmised was just being completed. Elmyra was busy putting pins into the veil layers of the skirt.

"Hi Sephiroth," Aeris cooed, as cheerful as ever. "Sorry, we just need to hem the skirt and then I'm ready to go."

"So I take it it's a yes, then?" I inquired.

"Of course! How often are the good people of Shinra going to throw a party, anyway?" she put her hands to her hips and leaned forwards slightly. _'Good people'?_

I just nodded my response, then took a seat on the wooden dining chair against the wall to wait. Aeris' eyes had followed me, and she tilted her head to one side and sulked.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You're not going to dress up?"

"No."

"Zack was right; You _are_ no fun," she pouted. I shrugged my response.

Elmyra seemed to be finished putting pins into the rim of the skirt. I stood up and held my hand out to help her off the table, and she took it. She had an unusually firm grip, I noted. _Maybe she's part of that resistance group? What were they called... Tsunami?_ As soon as she got off the table, Elmyra helped her unzip her dress at the back.

Wait, what?

I panicked. "Uhm, shouldn't you do that in another room?" I suggested while visually scouring the room looking for something of interest to focus on as calmly as possible.

Aeris laughed. "Don't be silly. I'm wearing a slip. What kind of girl do you take me for?" _Oh I don't know, a terrorist maybe?_ But even I knew that was too convenient an answer. Elmyra finished tearing the dress off her 'daughter' and took it into the other room just around the corner. I could hear her start the sewing machine.

"Uh..." She was indeed wearing a slip. A strapless thing that ended mid-thigh, no less. Lace trim. I focused on a vase of flowers across the room I assume she had picked that morning. "S-say, what kind of flower is this?" In the back of my mind, I could see Hojo enjoying my sudden love for botany. _Too bad it doesn't scream when you cut it open..._

Aeris was laughing at me. "Aww, the Great Sephiroth is turning red! I'll go put my housecoat on, then. I can see I'm making you uncomfortable." I could hear her footsteps leave the room and go up the stairs. _Very light on her feet, too._

I turned to see her return wearing a gaudy pink housecoat with moogles printed all over it in a cartoonish style. "Would you like some tea while we wait?" she offered, pulling the chair against the wall up to sit at the table.

"No thank you," I replied, taking the chair across from her.

A silence followed. Or at least, as silent as you can get with a manual sewing machine going just around the corner. She seemed uneasy, and I found myself drumming my fingers against the surface of the table. Soon after I caught myself and stopped, she got up to wash some errant dishes left in the sink.

_Think, fool, think! There's got to be something you can talk about that doesn't involve Shinra or terrorism._ I tried desperately to think of something I could ask her that wouldn't sound like the start of an interrogation. Thankfully, before I could make the attempt she broke the silence for me.

"So... Mister Sephiroth," she spoke over her shoulder. "How long have you been working for Shinra?" A polite inquiry into my working life. _Oh, she's good._

"For as long as I can remember," I coldly replied.

"You sound as if you don't like what you do."

"Not particularly. I've seen more than I'd like to of this world. Like the war..."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories..."

"Don't worry about it."

She solemnly put the washed and dried dishes away in the cupboards above the sink, then came to sit once more, shoulders slumped with the index finger of one hand tracing a knot in the woodgrain surface.

I leaned forwards slightly in my seat, the movement gaining her attention as her green eyes met with mine. "I said don't worry about it," I reminded her, a small smile forcing it's way onto my face.

She smiled slightly, then returned to her task. Soon after though, she shifted to sit upright and looked right at me, her chin now perched on the back of one hand. "I can't help it, I'm a very sentimental person. That war cost a lot to everyone." She spoke the last part quietly, then it hit me; Elmyra was a widow. Aeris was trying to be respectful because Elmyra's husband died in the war. Bad memories indeed.

I'm sure my face conveyed a look of slight surprise as my eyes darted to the doorway Elmyra had dissapeared through. I gave Aeris an understanding nod, and she smiled slightly.

As if on cue, Elmyra came through the doorway with the finished dress over one arm. "All right sweetie, now put this on and let me see how I did."

"Oh, thanks so much! You know how I always mess up on the machine with this material," Aeris gave her adoptive mother a hug before accepting the dress. I took that as my cue to stand and go back to the vase that captivated my attention earlier.

"My dear, you really need to pick easier fabrics to put together," she chastized. "Hurry up and get this on, you're going to be late."

There was a small clock on the shelf with the vase. _Well, we wouldn't be late at all if we were taking the train,_ I thought. Aeris cleared her throat, and I took that as a sign to turn around. She was back in the green dress and Elmyra held the moogle housecoat. They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek, then Aeris moved to the door to get her brown boots on. Which made me realize I hadn't taken mine off at all.

"Oh, Mrs. Gainsborough, how inconsiderate-" I started.

She laughed and waved it off. "Oh it's alright my dear, this floor needs to be swept anyways. Now take care you two. Come back for midnight, okay sweetie?"

"I make no such guarantees," Aeris grinned mischeviously, pulling on a dark green sweater. I crossed the room and she held my arm, then we were out the door.


	4. Faith

We climbed the walkway that ran next to the train tracks around the central structure of Midgar in almost complete silence, except for when she casually informed me that the flowers in her house were lillies. For some reason I started to wonder at the ribbon in her hair. It was the same pink one she had worn at First Plate.

"Aeris."

"Mmhmm?"

"That ribbon in your hair... Do you wear the same one all the time?"

"... Yes. Why do you ask?"

"It just occured to me that you might chose a green one instead, to match your new dress."

"... No. This one is special."

"Mind if I ask why?"

"It's alright to tell you I guess. You notice how it's not the same material as my usual pink dress?" I nodded. "The fabric is different, and a shade darker. The cloth that makes this ribbon was actually a piece of fabric from my mother's favourite dress."

"Oh... Sentimental value, then?"

She nodded solemnly, a smile creeping onto her face. "It's like I'm carrying a piece of her everywhere I go." She laughed at herself quietly. "I know that probably sounds crazy..."

"No, not at all." _I know I would kill to even learn the names of my parents..._

"... In fact, she gave me the greatest gift anyone could recieve with this bit of cloth." I looked at her as her eyes met mine. "Good advice," she finished with a warm smile.

"What did she say?"

Aeris focused her gaze straight ahead. "She said, 'Aeris, don't let this affect the way you live, or how you treat yourself. Live a fulfilling and good life. Then you'll have given your father and I both the greatest gift this planet could offer'."

"That's pretty good advi-" I hesitated when I noticed a tear crawl down her cheek. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..."

"Oh no no, it's okay, you just wanted to know about my ribbon. I offered all the extra information." She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. She looked up at me and grinned broadly. "'Don't worry about it'." she quoted.

I was tempted to ask her further about her parents, but I let it go. She showed far more faith in me than I posessed in her. Maybe the secret was in why her parents died.

* * *

"Elena," Tseng commanded. The blonde Turk instantly stood at attention. "This is your first assignment, is it not?"

"Yes sir, it is," she answered obediently.

"Good. I had hoped to break you into our line of work slowly. Our objective tonight is to protect a special guest. Just keep an eye on her, ensure she has a good time, and make sure she isn't approached by anyone that isn't a Turk or a Soldier. If you see anyone else try to engage her in conversation, discretely try to lead them away, unless she uses the word 'Materia'. This is her safe word to indicate that she _does_ wish to speak with the person. She is very clever, and will disguise her use of it ingeniously, so listen carefully. Understood?"

"Absolutely, sir!" she said. _So eager to please. I hate training fans of the trade._

"Excellent. Now, I'm going to give you a side objective."

"Sir?"

Tseng withdrew a long, flat box from within his suit jacket and handed it to Elena. "I want you to make sure Reno's shirt is tucked in and that he is wearing this tie the next time I see him."

She had a blank 'Are you serious?' look on her face. Tseng sighed inwardly.

"The consequences of not completing this side objective could be dire..."

"I-I'm on it, sir!" She gave a poor salute, then took off, presumably to find Reno.

Tseng stood in the empty room that was floor sixty-one as people around him set up for the dance. A couple employees were carrying tables into the small room off to the side for the refreshments. Across the room from the elevators they were setting up the sound system. Someone had the brilliant idea of including a disco ball. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger as he closed his eyes. "_I love my job I love my job I love my job..._"

* * *

About half an hour later we made it to the base of the Shinra building. I felt a chill run up and down my spine, and involuntarily squeezed Sephiroth's hand. He looked down at me questioningly to a face I'm sure held a note of horror, then straight ahead as if considering something. Then he smiled handsomely.

"I have an idea," he said.

Before I could object, he led me far to the left of the front doors, and opened the door to the fire escape. He held it open for me and I stepped through. But I was very confused.

"Sephiroth... Why this way?" I inquired.

"The front doors automatically scan for the ID of people walking in or out of the Shinra building each day. Usually when Zack and I come back late we just take the fire escape. Saves the trouble of alerting our peers, and it drives certain higher-ups nuts when they don't know where to find me," he explained.

"You climb sixty flights of stairs with Zack on your back every night you go out?" I smiled.

"Most of the time he's conscious enough for me to drag him up, but sometimes yes."

I giggled. "You deserve your title, Great Sephiroth." I gave a little bow, and he took my hand and led me up the stairs.

We rounded the corner in the middle of the first flight of stairs. "So..." I started. "That wasn't exactly what I meant by 'why'..."

He hesitated as we started the third flight. "It's because I know you're hiding from Shinra, and even though I don't know why, I'll respect your desire to remain hidden."

"Oh... Thank you." I was incredibly flattered that he would respect me enough to help me stay hidden instead of turning me over to his bosses. We passed a door with the number five on it, the fifth floor.

"Don't worry about it. I have far less love for the Shinra company than most people realize," he scoffed. "I only stick around because I'm grossly overpaid to be their poster boy, and I end up just doing whatever I want."

"That must be nice," I said thoughtfully, envisioning the first time I met Tseng in my mind. He had offered me much the same thing. Passed floor seven.

"... What would you do?"

"I'm sorry?"

"If you were given the same deal I was, doing missions for a hundred thousand gil or more with free room and board on top of it, would you take it over the life you have now?"

"I would turn it down. I'm happy living simply, and I wouldn't want the publicity you get..."

"Ah, of course," he said in understanding. We were silent up until we passed a door marked with an eleven, then I spoke up.

"Uhm, Sephiroth?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you, again, for... Respecting my privacy."

"Don't worry about it. I've no idea how popular you are with Shinra, but it wouldn't be my first act of rebellion."

"... Do you want me to tell you why I'm 'hiding'?"

He stopped entirely mid-flight, with his eyes fixated on the stairs before him. Then, just as suddenly, squeezed my hand and we continued. "No," he said. "Are you ready to tell me why?"

"... Well, I don't know..." I hesitated.

"If you're not ready then why offer?"

"... I guess because I feel indebted to you."

"Think nothing of it." We passed a door marked thirteen. "I have no idea what the reason is or could be, so I don't know how I would react. Maybe it would enrage me, and make me your enemy, so for the moment I'd rather not know."

"... Thank you."

"I said don't worry about it." He looked over his shoulder at me and smiled.


	5. But fear itself

"I... I didn't know dancing was something I had to know... To join Soldier..."

Zack laughed and ruffled up his young friend's hair, which he protested by backing away and trying to fix it. "Hey kid, just relax and enjoy yourself tonight. There's going to be music, food, and at least one lovely lady that _I_ know of, with more to come I'm sure." The young man looked at his feet nervously. Zack put his arm around his neck in a playful headlock. "Look, if you want to get into Soldier so badly, then there's two things you need to learn. First: Is to grow a backbone."

"What?" He struggled to get free.

"You heard me. You're not leaving here tonight until you approach at least one young lady and ask her to dance. And that's non-negotiable."

"And the second?" His voice was muffled, still locked in place.

"You need to stop being so damn serious all the time. You're starting to remind me of you-know-who. This is more for my own sanity than anything else."

The young man finally managed to force his way out of Zack's casual hold. His eyes darted around nervously as he began to pace, fixing his hair once more. He stopped when he saw a woman in a red dress across the room.

"M-maybe I'll ask her," he stammered out, thinking that maybe he could get Zack off his case for the rest of the evening.

"Hrmm, I wouldn't if I were you. See, that blonde beauty is Scarlet, head of the Shinra weapons research something-or-other. She's pretty nasty, and I'm quite sure she hasn't had all her shots." He spied Elena across the room trying to strangle Reno with a tie. The tie, and Reno, protesting loudly. "Now see her, maybe you could ask her to dance with you."

"She looks like she's with someone..."

"With _Reno_? Not in this lifetime. But she's young, quiet, nervous, blonde... You two are perfect for each other. Isn't that right Cloudy?" He gave him a playful nudge.

"Don't call me that," Cloud said.

"See? Backbone! We're learning already." Zack gave him a good slap on the back that threw him forward and made him stagger. "Now go ask her to dance already, I'm going to test the punch."

* * *

I couldn't help it, my legs were starting to cramp up from scaling so many stairs. We were halfway, maybe, up the staircase when I finally was forced to stop and catch my breath. Sephiroth kindly stopped and waited for me, an expression of amusement slightly crossing his features. I began to notice that he was a master of subtle facial expressions much like Tseng, hiding his feelings to everyone except to those that knew him well. His 'amused' look was a slight twinge of one eyebrow. I henceforth dubbed such expressions as 'Sephy-isms' in my mind.

"Sorry," I said. "My legs feel like they're about to fall off. I just need a minute."

He crossed his arms and locked his eyes with mine, then managed a small chuckle. "How are you going to dance like that?"

Without warning and before I could protest, he scooped me up and began climbing the stairs again with me in his arms. "Heeeyy!" I struggled, complaining loudly, my tiny fists beating harmlessly on his chest. "I can walk on my own!"

"But you just said your legs felt like they were going to fall off."

"Yeah, but what if _you_ get tired too? Then we'll never get away from these stupid endless stairs of doom."

"How much do you weigh?"

"_What?_"

"How heavy are you?"

"Not _that_ heavy, thank you." I scrunched up my nose in annoyance, but he was perfectly oblivious to how offensive what he was asking could be. _Typical_.

"No, no, I mean weight in pounds."

"About eighty-five, and I'll have you _know_ that's normal for someone my height..."

"I carry at least three of you up these 'stupid endless stairs of doom', as you have so christened them, at least three nights a week."

"Seriously? I didn't know Zack was so chubby." I giggled at the thought of Sephy rolling him up the stairs.

"He's about two hundred and sixty-five, but the kid is all muscle. Eighteen and built like a truck."

"Hmmm, and how much do _you_ weigh then?"

"... That's classified."

"Oh come on! How could that be classified? I told you how much I weigh, now you tell me."

"It's just complicated to explain."

"Wait, you're not anorexic or anything... Are you?"

"What? No." Sephy-ism of mild surprise.

"Fine, tell you what: You tell me how much you weigh, and I'll tell you something about me." I displayed one of my better mischevious smirks.

"... Is this your big secret?"

"No, something else. Curious?"

"No."

"Yeeesss you are."

"No, I'm not." Slight annoyance.

"You _so_ are."

"You really want to know that badly?"

"Mmhmm."

"Fine. I weigh a hundred and thirty-five pounds."

"Really?" He nodded. "Only?" Same response. "That would make you really skinny."

"I know, and before you ask, carrying Zack up these stairs doesn't tire me at all. In fact, I could probably throw him bodily with even less difficulty. So no, it's not a matter of me lacking in muscle mass."

"Oh. Well, that _is_ kinda weird..."

"Your turn now."

"Huh?"

"You said you would tell me something about yourself, if I told you my weight."

"I _knew_ you were curious."

"No, I'm quite not, I'm just hoping it will distract you from asking more uncomfortable questions." A playful smile tugged at his face for the shortest moment, if you blinked you'd miss it.

"Alright, fine then. I hate water."

"How do you mean 'hate'?"

"I can't swim. Never learned how to, and I'm afraid if I ever tried I would drown."

"Fear of drowning?"

"No... More like a fear of sinking. Not being able to pull myself away... Not being strong enough to live up to the task." I noticed the look on his face and kind of half-smiled. He was caught between listening and trying to think of a way to respond. "You don't have to say anything. It's just something about me."

He shook his head. "No, I... I just realized something myself."

"Oh? What's that, if you don't mind telling?"

"I have nothing to fear."


	6. Honour and death

"I _never_ want to see another staircase in my _life_."

Sephiroth chuckled at this, finally letting me walk of my own will once again. I stretched out and made sure my legs still worked, then latched on to his arm. He spoke to the guards, who briefly chewed him out for using the fire escape again, but he casually reminded them just who he was. He then escorted me past them and up, not quite so surprisingly, another couple flights of stairs. He explained on the way that the elevators all have cameras, and that if my presence was to remain a secret we'd have to avoid them entirely.

Upon entering floor sixty-one we were greeted by a familiar raven-haired truck. I accepted a bone-crushing hug while Seph gave him the look of death when he went to try the same flamboyant affection on him. He soon stopped and rethought this course of action.

"I should warn you two," Zack began. "Reno's here, and he already got to the punch, so don't go anywhere near it little lady." He gave me a patronizing pat on the head, to which I responded with a playful pout.

Sephiroth was busy scanning the crowd. "Figures," he finally said nonchalantly, with an edge to it that seemed angry and irritated with a hint of despair, as if he just watched a bomb tick down to zero and the world was about to explode.

"What? What is it?" Zack said.

"For some reason Professor Hojo is here." Sephiroth locked his eyes with mine before continuing in a serious, yet mildly amused tone. "If I were you I wouldn't drink or eat anything, there's no telling what he did to any of it. For all we know just breathing this air might make you think your mother is a Malboro."

I giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. Shall we?" I tugged on Sephy's arm.

He hesitated. "This might be a bad time to tell you this, but I can't dance..."

"Great, neither can I."

He looked to Zack imploringly. "Go ahead man, I'll find other ways to entertain myself while I wait for the next one." Zack, you evil, evil man. I _love_ it.

I didn't give Sephiroth any further warning before dragging his socially-awkward self into the mass of people flailing to the music.

* * *

Cloud was at a loss. He desperately wanted to prove himself to Zack, but he was beginning to doubt he was even born with a spine. And now he couldn't even approach Zack to talk about it because he was now occupied with talking to the Great Sephiroth himself. So he found himself going to lean up against a nearby wall, and found that a bald Turk still wearing his sunglasses had already claimed it. 

"Sorry," Cloud started awkwardly. The man's eyebrow twitched, either in acknowledgement or annoyance, then continued to stare ahead. "Okay, so maybe you don't mind then?" No response. "Uh, right."

For a minute or two Cloud tried to figure out what or whom he might be staring at. He couldn't figure out what could be so captivating. And the presence of his sunglasses made it that much harder to track what he might be looking at. Finally, the taller man in Turk blue turned his head to glower over the young blonde.

Cloud sighed and moved to pace nervously back and forth infront of his wallflower friend. "Well, since you don't seem to be the type to criticize... Okay, so my friend Zack has dragged me into this, and he says I can't leave until I ask someone to dance. Now, there's a girl over there," he pointed out Elena on the edge of the crowd. "But she's been fighting with that guy and his tie for the last hour or so. Zack tells me they're not dating or anything, but I'm not so sure..." He held the back of his neck and continued to pace, eyes downcast. "And what if she says no? This is so stupid... It's not like I'd even know what to do out there..."

The Turk seemed to turn away as if to ignore him, but Cloud took it as a sign to stop whining about it. "You're right. I'll just wait." He leaned against the wall next to the taller man once again.

* * *

"I'm quite sure that was my foot." 

"Eee, sorry!" I gave my unwilling dance partner an apoligetic smile.

"I feel ridiculous."

"Just, I don't know, _move_ to the music. There's no instruction manual on it or anything, you know."

"Really? Well, there goes that idea."

I laughed. "Say, when you practice fighting and stuff, do you play music and follow the rhythm?"

"Only with Zack, and only when he insists."

"What does he do?"

"Flails around like an idiot, for the most part."

"Try that then."

"What?"

"Flail like Zack."

"That's _not_ happening."

"Oh come _on_! There must be some awesome never-before-seen dance moves that the Great Sephiroth can do."

I had done it. I had challenged his name, his title, and maybe even his honour. A lesser man might get angry and try to defend himself verbally, maybe even violently. But not Sephiroth. He considered this for a moment, then that tastefully malicious grin I had seen only once before returned briefly.

"Wait here," he instructed. He left to approach the disc jockey for the dance and spoke briefly to him. A moment later he returned as the last song stopped before it was finished and was replaced with another. Something more foreign, something I had heard maybe once before. He offered his hand wordlessly and I took it.

In Wutai the lords of the land at one time held ceremonial dances in celebration of birthdays, marriages, even funerals, and the dance each time was much the same. Wutai being a nation of skilled ninjas and assassins, the dance itself flowed with an eerie and methodical grace. It was symbolic of life renewed, each step symbolic of a step in the journey. Tseng had taught it to Elmyra and myself a year ago around my birthday because I had asked him about it, but Sephiroth was a true master of it. He had managed to perfect Wutaian ballroom dancing.


	7. Ambition

"For the love of the Ancients Reno, just put the damn thing on!"

"I am _not_ a tie guy."

"I don't care, it's part of the uniform, and Tseng has asked me to make sure you're wearing it, so wear it you will."

Elena glared at her coworker with every bit of female fury she could muster. But this was Reno, and he had long since been rendered immune to the patented look of death.

"Look sweetie, the only way you're going to get that tie on me, is if you promise to take it off later. Along with everything else." With a chauvinistic look in his eye he took her hand and kissed it.

"Ew." She pulled away. "Pig."

"Ew?" He played it as if hurt. "Me... Rejected?" He stumbled backwards as if he was about to faint. "I don't know what to do... The world doesn't make sense anymore..."

"So are you going to put the damn tie on already?"

"Hmm. Lemme think about it." He took the tie in one hand, looking pensively at it while stroking at an imaginary beard. Then he quickly tied it around her forehead instead. "No." With that he stalked off in order to find some entertainment.

Elena turned completely red in complete anger and frustration, then eased up a bit when she realized that, when she removed the tie that made her look like some sort of indie rocker, it had a perfect knot to it. "Now if he's so against ties, how could he...?"

"Best not to dwell on it," Tseng said from behind her.

"Aah!"

"Calm," he said, moving a hand as if to shush her without meeting her eyes. Instead he continued to stare ahead as if at nothing, hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm sorry sir, I couldn't get him to wear the stupid-"

"You tried and that's all that counts. I've been trying to get him to wear one for four years with no success. After a while I've come to admit defeat... For the most part, anyways."

"So why did you ask me to try?"

"To test you, see how far you would go to complete an objective."

"... How did I do?"

"You failed."

"What? But you just said-"

He looked her square in the eyes. "Objectives _are_ important, but you've lost sight of the mission." Then without a word further, he stalked off towards their special guest and a creepy man in a labcoat, both over by the refreshments. While the man's face was unseen, the young woman in green didn't look too happy to be speaking with him. Shortly after Tseng had caught her attention she stormed away.

Elena could almost feel a dark cloud gathering above her. "I am so screwed..."

* * *

During our bout across the dance floor, all eyes on us, I noticed Hojo staring me down, a disgusting smile plastered on his greasy features. I excused myself shortly after the next song started, saying I'd go in search of water - something in a bottle, and sealed I promised. It was hard for him to refuse to let me leave him there, especially with so many fangirls ready and waiting to pounce on him. So I approached Hojo by the refreshments and let out a small sigh. 

"What do you want, Professor?" I said without looking up.

"Why didn't you take that offer several years ago?"

"Why would I? Oh sure, I'd _love_ to submit to a life of tissue samples and scheduled interrogations about my ancestors." If he couldn't detect the sarcasm in my voice, then he really _was_ a fruitloop.

"I'd like to make you that offer again-"

"Pass."

"-In light of your recent interactions with Sephiroth."

"I _said_ pass." I looked over at him scowling. "What is he to you anyways?"

"Only the greatest soldier Shinra has ever been graced with."

"That's not what I asked to know. I said what is _he_ to _you_?"

"It's-"

"Classified. Right. But he means something to you, doesn't he? Perhaps he's one of your little science projects, hmm? Is that how far you've fallen?"

"I just want to see you taken care of."

I leaned in so I could speak quietly. "Like how you took care of my father when you gave the order to kill?"

"Be reasonable, Ancient. You are the sole surviving heir of a great legacy."

"And you are a foul, twisted old man and there is no way I would share any such 'legacy' with you or Shinra or anyone." Tseng appeared behind him and spared me a glance before deftly scooping up some punch in a glass he procured. He made to turn away and sample it, still keeping an ear out for me.

I snatched up an apparently sealed bottle of water. "If you are so stuck on 'helping' me, Professor, then do me one favour, and one favour only; Let me feel human for at least one night of my life." I turned and walked away.

"Now wait just a-" he started. I kept my pace.

Behind me I heard a splash, and then a string of insincere apoligies from Tseng. Hojo complained loudly but Tseng insisted that he give him the money to cover the drycleaning. I guess that was how he kept him from following me out to the balcony.

* * *

I saw the whole thing. 

I politely excused myself from the crowd that had somehow managed to surround me. Or at least I would have, if they'd have listened. Instead I was halfway to pushing them to the ground because the moment I went to move in one direction, the crowd would shift to occupy the space in that direction and surround me once more. When I finally managed to wrest myself free, I made my way over to Zack.

"_Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!_"

Who was apparently engaged in some barbaric test of alcoholic fortitude against Reno. I folded my arms and gave Zack a pointed glare, and he almost choked on the next gulp. He bowed out of the contest, much to the discontent of Reno and those around him. Reno did us the favour of herding the crowd back to the dance floor.

"S'up?" he inquired.

"Aeris is unwell. I want you to go talk to her," I began.

"Hey man, why me? She's your girlfriend..." he slurred.

I gave him a look that should have answered his question for him, but I suppose he was too drunk to notice. "Because she's angry over something Hojo said, because I'm not proficient in solving another's personal problems, and because you would know better what to say."

"I'm kinda not... All here at the moment, y'know?" He clearly wasn't as he swayed unsteadily to the left.

"Clearly not." I said, annoyed. "Fine then." I grabbed him by both shoulders and turned him around. "Do me a favour, and start walking that way, then tell me what you find out later."

"Alrighty, my man Seph, I'm on it..." Then he started walking unsteadily in the chosen direction.

* * *

Sorry about the long delay -;; I briefly tried my hand at a social life once again, but now that my sleep cycle is completely nocturnal again, I've gotten back at it :P As you may've noticed in this chapter and the previous one, a lot of stuff is happening at or close to the same moment in time, so it's a bit confusing to follow and I'm doing the best I can to make it all make sense. It'll be no different in the next chapter, but soon the side-plots will start to wrap up. I just had to have a Reno moment or three :)

In case I forget to with the next chapter (Which is in progress), a huge thanks to Tyramir for his constructive criticism aswell as the only Rufus cameo this fic may have, to come very soon either in the next chapter or in the one after that :)

Please review!! Please!? o.o;


	8. Family, huh?

Rude was a mountain. Few things could shake him. He kept his head in even the most chaotic of situations. If Avalanche attacked the Shinra building headon, he wouldn't move. If President Shinra declared another war, he wouldn't move unless ordered. If he were in a Mako reactor about to go critical, he just might flinch. But for some reason he now stirred.

Rude stood tall and uncrossed his arms. Cloud looked at him curiously, trying to understand the Turk's change in behaviour. Rude looked ahead, then back to Cloud.

"Now's your chance," the bald mountain spoke.

Cloud looked over at Elena, who had found a place to sit, isolating herself. She looked quite depressed. He then started towards her.

_

* * *

Maybe this is a bad idea, and I should just leave her alone_. 

Aeris turned when I approached. _Well, too late for that now, genius_.

"Hey Sephiroth, sorry about leaving you to the wolves out there..." She smiled slightly. It wasn't genuine; Clearly she still had a lot on her mind.

I went and stood next to her, leaning on the railing as she did. "Why did you?"

"I figured Hojo had something to say to me, so I thought I'd get it over with. I just didn't think I'd get so angry... Just being within ten feet of him."

"He can do that to the best of us."

A mischevious look crossed her face. "Say, do you ever get the urge to, like, yank out his fingernails one by one?"

"All the time." She giggled.

"Or maybe throw a match into his dirty, greasy hair?" she continued playfully.

"I can't say I haven't dreamed of it," I grinned and laughed gleefully in my mind. _That, and switching the labels on all the chemicals in his lab, feeding his files to Dark Nation, and plenty of creative uses for uncooked rice..._

She smiled for real and grappled my arm. "You give yourself far too little credit, oh Great Sephiroth."

"Pardon?"

"You tried to get Zack out here to cheer me up first, right?"

"... Is it that obvious?"

"Mmm-hmm. But I feel better already. So, thank you."

"No problem." I was never quite sure how I'd helped exactly. I'd talk about torturing Hojo _any_ day of the week.

She resumed looking out at the stars. _I suppose it's because she can't see them from her home in the slums_. She was silent for a while. Then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I was just thinking about... Well, everything." She leaned into me. "Do you ever question it all?"

"Question what, exactly?"

"Why we're here right now. How we got here. Why things turned out this way. What it will mean for the future. Fate, essentially."

"Not at all. I make my own destiny."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself."

"I've never questioned it. I regret some of my past actions, and others I'm proud of. But they were all my actions. You?"

"I'm not so sure. I mean, I don't want to get ahead of myself and say there's some big plan for me, but sometimes I look back at everything that's happened... Sometimes it feels like I'm being pushed to follow a certain path." She sighed. "I wish I had your strength."

_I would hate to think like that._ But then I had to consider that, in her terms, Shinra would be the force pushing me down this path. That made me hate them more than ever.

"Where do you see yourself, say, five years from now?" she inquired.

"Still here at Shinra, most likely."

"When do you think you'll stop working for Shinra?"

"It will depend on the missions I take, and by extension the money I'd be making. At worst, though, I could likely retire in just over ten years. Fifteen, and I could live very comfortably."

"What will you do when you retire?"

I had to think about that. My first instinct was to say 'travel', but I figured there wouldn't be too many places in the world left by now that would be worthwhile visiting. I had already spent a summer at Costa Del Sol (At the behest of Zack, and working on a tan I never managed to acquire), I had already visited Cosmo Canyon once or twice, and then there was Wutai, which I had seen enough of.

"I'm not sure," I answered.

"Hmmm, okay." Then she laughed.

"What is it this time?"

"You really want to know?"

"Uhh, sure?"

"_Really_ really?"

"I don't think I like where this is going." That just made her laugh harder. _Great. I've driven her insane. Somehow._

"I was just thinking of how cute you'd look with a little girl."

"... What?"

"A little girl of your own. A daughter. She'd have long silver hair all done up with ribbons and a cute little dress. Or maybe a boy with denim overalls and a fascination for toy cars that get littered all over the stairs. Ohh, it'd be soo cute..."

I briefly tried to picture this, then started to doubt my own sanity. "You're not trying to tell me something... Are you?"

She let go of my arm as she started laughing again, staggering around the balcony, to the point where she had to stop and catch herself on the railing and catch her breath. "No no no!" She took one look at me and continued laughing, leaning on the rail as if she would fall. _Yes, she's insane alright_.

She finally composed herself. "My my, is the thought of having kids so scary to you?"

"No, I... I haven't really thought about it." _Besides, if I'm any indication, the first time they threw a tantrum I'd have to have that section of the house rebuilt... By the Ancients, and I'd have to feed them too..._

"Well, now you are! How does that make you feel?"

"Insane." Then I started laughing uproariously. _Family, huh?_

"Then I guess that leads to my final question: You've picked where we've gone for our dates so far, now it's my turn. Let's go visit an orphanage I know in Sector 3."

"To be fair, in both instances it was all Zack's idea..."

"Oh come on! It'll be so much fun! We'll just pop in for a few minutes and say hi to the kids, I doubt the matron would have any issues with their biggest hero visiting..."

"What's the point of this exactly? To test my abilities as a parent?"

"Not exactly. More to get you thinking about stuff other than work." She looked at me and smiled. "Why do you think Zack drags you all over the place, hmm?"

"To get drunk and have me pay the bill?"

"To get you out of the Shinra building and away from all that. To get you to experience the world. I think he sees what I see: A man who has commited himself to his work. And that's not a bad thing! But you _act_ like there's nothing else out there for you." She waved a finger at me. "And that _is_ a bad thing. You're not just commited; you're consumed."

I found myself starting to get angry at the waif for lecturing me on how I live my life. How _dare_ she try to interfere, I never even _asked_ her out in the first place; That was Zack's setup. But she had a point I couldn't disagree with.

"Work is all I've ever had," I found myself saying.

* * *

Yes, another seriously belated update. My bad. I started chapter 8 after finishing 7 one very early morning, and this weird thought came up to have Aeris talk to Sephy about kids. I've always figured that, if Sephy lived a pseudo-normal life, grew up a bit and got married, that he'd have adorable kids and be an excellent father. Though that might be my fangirly-ness talking, consider that he spends the entirety of Final Fantasy 7 focussed on taking the world back for his disembodied head of a mother o.O; It may seem like an odd conversation for the poor guy to get trapped in, but trust me, this is a plot point that's going to define later events and give this story even more credibility ;) 

Chapter 9 is started, and will wrap up the dance thing once and for all.


	9. Sword of Wutai

"Tseng. A word."

There were very few people in the world who actually called him by his name. These people included what remained of his family members, Aeris and Elmyra, Reno out of consistent disrespect, and those above him (Or thought they were) in Shinra's chain of command. To everyone else, he was simply 'Sir'. He turned away from his dealings with a very inebriated Reno and saw the recently instated Vice President Rufus standing there expectantly.

"Sir?" he responded immediately.

"You and your team's endless bumbling to secure the Ancient - an Ancient that, rumour has it, may be closer to us than we ever dared imagine at this moment - is an increasing embarassment both to this company and my father. Your techniques are sloppy, and your results lacking. If my father were an intelligent man, he'd fire you on the spot." He hesitated, and looked Tseng squarely in the eye, holding his stoic expression. "Keep up the good work." Then he walked away.

"... What the crap was that about?" Reno asked, surly.

Tseng was somewhat taken aback aswell. "... I think it means I need a vacation."

* * *

"Aeris," he began. I had half expected him to get angry at me for what I'd just said, but it _was_ true. Though he seemed to go from angry to contemplative, and now he had something important to say. 

"Hmm?"

"What do you remember of the war in Wutai?"

"I didn't get to see the news much then, but I know a lot of people died, and it was at a stalemate. Then... Well, you ended it."

"That's right. That was about seven years ago." He paused and turned, leaning with his back against the railing. "I was twelve years old."

_

* * *

And I have never forgiven myself._

I was minding my own buisness reading a book in my room when the President himself interrupted me and told me he had a mission for me. I looked at the fat and stupid man infront of me and scoffed, returning to my book. I'm pretty sure he didn't like that answer, because instantly three Soldiers came in from outside the room and knocked me out.

When I came to I was in a steel box, and from the way it swayed about, I was already on a boat. I was angry they were transporting me against my will, like some kind of _animal_, so I spent my time in there hitting my bare hands against one side. I had managed to do so enough times that a hole began to form, but before I had one large enough that I could climb out of, the boat slowed to a stop. Then I heard the most horrifying thing a person could; Wutai had launched a surprise attack. The boat's crew and everyone at the base camp we had made port at were slaughtered to the last man.

Needless to say, I stopped hitting my metal prison and listened, hoping they wouldn't find me. But they had already heard me. They found me and carried me away as I was still inside the box, and I stayed as still as I could. My first instinct was to conserve my energy. My second was to avoid leaving the box, because I knew the men who had me would kill me if I did.

I suppose they weren't sure what to make of me. For some reason they took me to their town centre. One of them pulled me out rather aggresively. In a flash I managed to disarm him and cut him down where he stood. A second ninja tried to come to his defense, but I dispatched him just as easily. A small child wailed nearby, I suppose he knew him. His mother pulled him away.

"You're a monster. Don't you realize those men have family?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't have a family."

I made my way up the pagoda in the centre of town, fighting my way through all of Wutai's finest warriors. Finally, I reached the top where the leader of their nation resided. Lord Godo.

He had a couple of his ninjas try to take me by surprise first, but as with everyone else, they underestimated me. Seconds later, I pointed the sword I had taken earlier out at their lord and challenged him.

"Who are you?" he asked me.

"Sephiroth. Now, I can't go home until something happens today, so let's dance already." Even then, referring to Shinra as 'home' left a foul taste in my mouth.

His first move was to try and use some Ice materia to freeze me, but I was too fast and managed to close the distance between us. He was fast, too, and parried my every swing, at one time cutting my right arm. A few times he would try magic on me again, and every time he did I took advantage of his hesitation and cut him back. Neither of us were cut badly enough for it to be life-threatening, understand. But it slowed each of us down all the same.

Finally, he tried to Cure himself with a materia, and I managed to knock the orb right out of his hand with the flat of my sword. I knocked him to the ground then and threw his sword across the room. I had him at a disadvantage and he knew it.

He slowly stood up and congratulated me. He said I was the fiercest warrior he'd ever fought, and presented me with his sword as a token of respect.

* * *

"His... sword?" Aeris asked me. 

"The Masamune," I clarified. "The Sword of Wutai."

* * *

Seems like every time I promise a chapter, life gets in the way and delays it further XD This has been half done for the last couple months. Sorry about the wait -;; No promises for the next one though, I've got to wrap up Cloud & Elena somehow and figure out other stuff. Oh, there is more Turks happy fun stuff planned in later chapters, where Reno briefly takes to spying on his boss. It will be most entertaining :) 


	10. Two steps behind

"Is this seat taken?"

Elena briefly looked up from her self-imposed exile from the crowd. A young man - barely a man, really, though she wasn't that much older than him herself - had interrupted her morbid thoughts. He was in a grunt's uniform with spiky blonde hair. She felt irritated at his presence, preferring to be left to her thoughts and not have to deal with anyone's crap right now. Finally she let out a small, imperceptible sigh and spoke.

"What's stopping you? Go ahead." she said.

He sat with the chair backwards with his legs at the sides and his arms resting on the backrest. He stared at her for a moment, like a bandersnatch caught in the headlights. She briefly likened his choice of hairstyle to the ruffled feathers of a chocobo.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself," he pointed out. _Gee, is it that obvious?_

"Not really, no." She felt her voice drip with bitterness, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Maybe I could do something to help?" he offered kindly.

"How could _you_ help?" she shot back, though she cursed herself in her own mind for being unfair to him. It was obvious he wanted to ask her out or something, but the kid _was_ trying.

"I can start by listening," he offered.

She pointed to his grunt's uniform. "It's classified Turk stuff, that's pretty above and beyond your clearance level."

"So don't give me any details," he smiled gently.

_What could it hurt?_ She finally resolved. So she told him everything - leaving out any details - about how she failed her training mission and feels like a monumental dissapointment. She told him that she was having serious doubts about her chosen field, and should probably go back to being something insignificant, some low government official's secretary. She even told him how it was all to try and impress the turk leader, Tseng, because she had feelings for him, and she had even gone to the girly extreme of buying new perfume and painting her nails navy blue to match her uniform.

A few moments after she finished spilling her guts out to the youth, he returned from his thoughtful silence. "You're trying too hard," he said with some finality.

"What?"

"See that dark-haired Soldier over there?" he pointed to a raven-haired young man who was looking pretty sick with all the alcohol he'd consumed that evening, and staggering slowly in the direction of the bathrooms. "He's a friend of mine. He recently hooked up his friend Sephiroth with a girl he likes. He's too thick to tell, but Sephiroth doesn't seem to care about her, but Zack really cares about her. He's just not sure how to respond to his feelings yet so he set her up with his best friend, and now he feels like he can't do or say anything to her because she's Sephiroth's girlfriend, in his mind."

"So he's pretty much trapped himself, emotionally."

"Exactly," he said. "Guys are pretty thick; We make stupid mistakes like that all the time, and we can't see anything unless it's put right infront of us." He smiled sweetly. "Takes an idiot to know one, I guess."

Elena thought it over for a minute. _Tseng is smarter than that, isn't he?_ He _was_ the leader of the Turks for his attention to detail, and whether it be an office prank or a life-or-death situation in a mission, he always remained ten steps ahead of the game. But in love... Elena knew that he was somewhat pining for that girl - the same girl she had been asked to watch that night, Sephiroth's supposed girlfriend - but he hadn't made a move yet. _Maybe he _is_ oblivious to it_, she thought.

The young man looked up for a moment, listening. Then he checked the clock. "I think they're playing the last song..." he began.

"It's a slow one," she pointed out.

He stood from his chair and offered his hand. "Would you care to dance with me?" She was about to shoot him down, thinking this might be a thinly veiled attempt to get into her pants. Some words of wisdom proclaiming all men are idiots and then something suggestive, leading to a one night stand and then she'd never hear from him again. It would be a Reno thing to do, and the thought of it made her sick. But he somehow caught the bitterness in her expression, then offered; "It doesn't have to mean anything. Just a dance between friends."

She thought about it for a moment, then smiled slightly and took his hand.

* * *

Author's ramblings and other stuff: 

Finally, Cloud makes Elena's day. I have to admit, I never really liked Cloud all that much. Not in the game, the movie, or any fanfiction I've ever read of him. He starts out thinking he's some hotshot from Soldier, but he's really dumb. Like, really REALLY dumb, and thick, and points out the obvious a _lot_. It gets on your nerves after a while, though I thought I'd give the kid a small break and make him say stuff that, while a bit out of character (Read also: dumb), was appropriate for what I had in mind anyway and it won't break any kinda continuity. Right now to Elena he's just some kid recruit (He is 14 in this timeline, after all), and they haven't exchanged names or anything so it's not like this would imply she'd recognise him in the game.

This is coming to you at great cost to my sanity and my sleep. You'd better review :P


	11. Waking the Dreaming

"I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry, I had no idea it was like that..." Aeris began.

"That's quite alright. You get sick of hearing your own name after a while, but it's something I have to live with," Sephiroth forgave.

"What would do you if you ever had to go back there for a mission or something?" she inquired.

"I'd turn it down. I don't know how they would react to me if I ever went back there. Godo - if he's still around - would probably think nothing of it, considering the weight of the decision it was to give me his sword as one warrior to another... But the townsfolk would probably hate me for ultimately bringing Shinra to their lands and destroying their way of life, if not for the people I'd killed in cold blood that day."

Aeris looked up then, listening. She was silent for a moment, then she looked right at me, smiling softly. "They're playing the last song, would you join me for it?" She held out a hand.

"I don't really know how to slowdance," I hesitated.

"Just hold me." I took her hand and we went back inside. I held her, as directed, and we slowly turned in a circle, listening to the music.

"Sorry for interrupting your thoughts," she said.

"It's more than alright," I said. _I hate talking about myself anyway. What posessed me to tell her all that?_

"It's just that, I love this song. It has almost the same tune as one my mother used to sing to me."

"What was it called?"

"I don't really remember, but it had something to do with 'waking the dreaming'. It's a really old song."

The song was purely instrumental, the original artist not even considering to ruin the tune with lyrics about past loves or something typical like that. It had an eerie feel to it, at points upbeat but the slowness made it feel sad. If used in a movie it would well fit either a scene of old friends or relatives reuiniting, or a scene with something dark and morbid, like a funeral or a blood-soaked battlefield. My mind found itself focused on the image of a battlefield that was ingrained into my memory.

She chuckled softly against me. "There you go again," she said.

"Pardon?"

"Off in your own little world." She tapped my chest scoldingly with one finger.

"Ah. Sorry."

"It's okay. Believe it or not, being dark and brooding is something we have in common."

"I believe it."

"Really? Hmm. I must not be trying hard enough, what with the outwardly upbeat attitude and the pink dress I always wear."

"I get the sense that you understand things better than you let on, and you have a somewhat... Dark past, if you don't mind my saying. Your parents."

She was silent for a moment before nodding in affirmation. "Mmhmm."

"I apoligize. I probably shouldn't have said anything."

"It's alright. I've come to terms with it... As much as I really can." Her voice grew softer, and I got the sense she was about to cry so I held her tighter, hoping that maybe that would stop the flow of tears. "I just wish... I really appreciate how open you've been with me about yourself, and how much you respect me to _be_ so open, but... I just wish I could return the favour, tell you more about myself, aswell."

"And why don't you?"

"My big secret. I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you anything even related to it. You're going to figure it out for yourself eventually, but when the time is right to."

I did feel a little betrayed. Logically I could understand the desire for secrecy, but in my mind I couldn't comprehend exactly what would be so horrible about her that she would go to such great lengths to conceal it. There was Tseng's involvement with her; He was probably the one that had her put into the private school, under a false identity. A friend of the family, and an excellent man to have to hide something from Shinra, working within it you knew how to beat the system. And then there was Hojo, why would he have anything to say to her, let alone something to shake her so badly? What was once thought of as a kind and gentle girl living with her mother in the slums was now a very suspicious character with apparently a secret so deep and dark that she had an elaborate system set up to hide her very existence from the _world_.

She had been silent for a while, clinging to my coat and now wracked with silent sobs. "I'm so sorry..." she said, her voice muffled. "I'd hate to think of you as anything but a great friend."

I could do nothing but stroke her hair and wonder.

* * *

Quiz time! 

Question: In the game Final Fantasy 7, how exactly does Aeris make it through the sleeping forest by herself when the party has to waste time digging for the Lunar Harp?

Answer: In this author's mind, she sang a song to the forest. In the Final Fantasy digest feature on the Advent Children movie DVD, the scene in where the party is trapped in the cells on the top floor of the Shinra building was changed slightly. In the English version Aeris is talking about how the ancients are supposed to find the Promised Land, but in the Japanese game she sang a song about it (As surmised from her blocky character swaying in the feature thing and the lyrical tone of the translated dialogue). The song? Aeris' theme of course.

Question: What time is it Miss Author person?

Answer: It is exactly 6:22am as I write this. Two chapters in one night, and my alarm is about to go off for work today. You people _owe_ me at least _one_ review.

I HATE INSOMNIA.

* * *

Kinda pointless to put the little (Edit) line here, considering the number of times I've already touched this up with the document manager and swapped it in with the replace chapter feature, but I just thought of how comically appropriate it is for the line above with my chosen chapter title. Ha, ha. You may now go back to appreciating my work. :) 


	12. Hidden

Reno promptly put his feet up on the desk when he came in for work the following morning. Elena rolled her eyes as she went for a sip of her coffee. When Rude came in, sunglasses still on, he worldlessly handed Reno a folder that looked thick with letters before sitting at his own desk.

"Excellent," Reno said slowly, a mischevious grin forming on his face.

"What are you up to now, Reno?" Elena inquired. Whenever Reno had that look, it meant bad news for everybody.

Reno thought about it for a moment, then finally decided she couldn't ultimately hurt his latest master plan. "Fine fine, I'll let you in on this one 'Laney." He got up from his desk with the folder and came over to hers, and opened it for her to see.

Inside was letters that had been carefully handwritten, on pink decorated stationary. The writer had even managed to find himself, or likely herself, a pink pen with which to write them with. Elena glanced them over, then looked at Reno condescendingly. "You're intercepting someone's mail now?"

"Love letters. And not just anyone's love letters; Tseng's."

Elena blinked, then looked at the letters again. The writer didn't indicate either their own name or the name of whoever they were sending them to, preceeding or within the messages. "How do you know they're his?" she asked.

Reno glanced over at Rude and smiled. "Rude went through his desk secretly," he said.

Elena looked at the bald giant, surprised. "You're in on this ridiculous scheme too?"

Rude said nothing, preferring to stick to his current work.

"So what's the point of this, anyway?" Elena asked. "Why are you spying on our boss?"

"We're just curious as to who he's seeing. The man never tells us anything about himself, so it's about damn time we found out for ourselves, don't you think?"

"It's an invasion of privacy, you know."

"You can't _honestly_ tell me you're not curious?"

Elena thought it over. Obviously she was jealous of whoever this person was, but she was also concerned with Tseng finding out ahead of time that they were spying on him. He always somehow knew stuff like that before you were ready for him to, and would plan accordingly although he wouldn't quite give away that he knew until the very end. If you tried to prank Tseng for an extended period of time, he'd subtly turn it around on you and then you were always the one left pranked.

Elena gave her own playful smile and spoke quietly. "So what's next? Tap his phone?"

"Already done," Reno said, gleeful that he had managed to get Elena of all people into his latest game. "About a week ago. We've found something interesting too, there's an unlisted number that calls him on his cellphone every night late at night."

"You don't think it's just his mother or a sibling checking up on him?"

"He's an orphan. Besides, if it was, I would've been able to find her easily in the Shinra computers. Where we store the electronic IDs for the trains we also have criminal records and personal history."

"That's kinda unnerving to know that anybody with clearance could know everything about you, just like that," Elena thought out loud.

"That's Shinra for you. They have dirt on everybody."

* * *

Yes, I know, the chapters are getting shorter as I go along. But they're coming out faster than ever! This would've been posted last night if not for the site's server bugging out on me. Oh well. 

This is going to be a hilariously fun story arc to write, so expect updates. No official schedule though, work still owns my life :)


	13. Forgotten

"You know, I don't recall actually _agreeing_ to come here today, Aeris."

I laughed and nudged the Great Sephiroth along. If you thought Sector five was bad, Sector three was the sticks. It consisted of mainly polluted farmland, long since abandoned by it's tenders. There was the odd hut made from debris of old harvesters and plows to till the fields, and within each was evidence of a firepit, with the ashes mostly blown away by the wind since. Overhead the plate holding up the upper city blocked out the sun, and the smog created by the reactor nearby further darkened the district and gave it a dusky twilight feel, even though it was mid-morning. I always felt sick to my stomach when I was close to a reactor, like something twisted up inside of me, but I did my best to hide it. Sector three was the only place in the city Shinra was willing to put a building that would do some good for the community.

"Don't worry, I won't let them braid your hair," I promised. "... Unless you _want_ them to...?" I teased.

"No thanks," Sephiroth said dryly. "Last thing I need is to walk back into HQ with ribbons in my hair."

"Now what's wrong with ribbons?" I stopped and put my hands to my hips with a playful pout. He turned his head briefly, barely a break in his stride.

"Nothing," he said simply, almost apoligetic.

He seemed reluctant to go to the orphanage today, but at the same time there was an air of eagerness about him. _He probably just wants to get this over with,_ I thought.

I thought wrong. As we approached the gate he froze in his tracks, with the strangest expression crossing on his face. "Sephiroth?" I asked. "Is something wrong?" He didn't answer, just scanned the area with his eyes, almost as if the run down little building infront of us was the strangest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Just then the matron let the children out to play. They all wore the same sort of dark greys and browns, made out of the same rough material. Some of them looked forlorn and wandered the yard quietly, while others rampaged recklessly across it in hot pursuit of a toy or another child. The matron took note of us and approached. Some of the children took note of her interest and lined up against the inside of the rusted iron fence that circled the building, watching.

As she approached Sephiroth seemed to return to normal. "Matron," he acknowledged with a nod.

She hesitated, looking him over before speaking. "Sephiroth?"

* * *

He was a good sport after all.

He spoke with the Matron for several long minutes before finally coming inside the gate, and not two minutes later he was tossing a ball back and forth between a couple children, occaisionally turning to throw it lazily into an old basket mounted to the side of the building, which only came to about as high as his waist. Inside, he was he sitting in a chair reading aloud from a children's book, entitled "My Tonberry and Me", with no less than six young faces watching him turn the pages intently. At their lunch time he helped serve the kids their meager meal, all the while fielding questions about, censoring things where he should and passing himself off as more of a buisnessman than a mercenary. The whole time he had the faint traces of a smile tugging at his face, but there was a shadow over his expression. He was looking at a spot low on one wall in contemplation when I decided to approach him.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him.

The Great Sephiroth didn't look at me to answer, focused still on the wall. He pointed to it. "There's supposed to be a large hole in this wall."

"What?" I looked at the space. There was nothing wrong with it. In fact, it seemed... Newer, than any other part of the building. "What makes you say that?"

"Because I threw a chair at it." He sighed. "I've been here before. When I was very young." The way he said it he sounded almost sad, and still so far off in the distance. Then his eyes abruptly met mine, edged with anger. "Is that why you brought me here?"

I backed off defensively. "No! No, I had no idea... I mean, well, how would I know?"

He considered that for a moment, and the venom in his expression dissapeared. "I feel... So lost. I don't know anything about my past, I didn't even remember this place."

I touched his arm lightly. "Does this answer anything for you, at least?"

"No. It only raises more questions." He breathed, and I could feel him tense and become frustrated. When he spoke again, he did so to himself. "Why? What does it mean?"

* * *

NOT DEAD! Augh, it's been forever. Okay, so my excuse this time is that my computer got virused like crazy, and I couldn't do anything. It was dragged down hard by the stupid little viruses and their little virus-babies mucking about my system in the background and consuming all available resources, so much so I couldn't open WordPad, let alone type a single word without having to wait for the computer to catch up with me --; Thankfully, that crisis is over, as I have a brand new computer now that is at least ten times better than the old paperweight.

Next chapter soon-ish, maybe even tonight.


	14. Birds of a feather

"So that's it then? You're breaking up with me?"

I can't say I was surprised. I mean, come on, the most we had done to date was hold hands. He could be charming and sweet and kind in his own dark and melancholy way, but there was nothing behind it. I knew what he was getting at before he even tried to say the words. The whole relationship was one based upon respect and trust, but not one of passion. He had his moments, like the exotic dance moves he pulled off the night beforehand, but I didn't have feelings for him in that way. We were better off being honest friends than masquerading as a couple when we didn't honestly look at each other like that.

"I've said it before; I'm not good at this sort of thing... Aeris, please don't take it the wrong way."

Of course, I had to tease him about it, patient understanding aside.

I put my hands to my hips and leaned forward slightly, a piteous look on my face. "Whatever am I going to do without you? I'm going to die alone and unloved!" I raised a hand to brush away an imaginary tear.

The Great Sephiroth had the most perplexed look on his face, his expressions showing more easily than normal. It was a cross between a 'I really messed this up, didn't I' scowl that would put Tseng to shame, and a general look of total bewilderment. He was about to trip over a response, but I waved a hand and decided to go easy on the poor guy. _And I had the perfect line about wanting his babies that would send his mind reeling for probably the rest of his natural life..._

"I'm just teasing, you know. Though, I wouldn't mind if we could still hang out together?" I suggested. "Going to dinner doesn't necessarily have to count as a date, you know."

"I'd be fine with that. I... Need some time, though."

"I know. You have a lot on your mind." Honestly, he must have the noisiest head I've ever heard of. He's always off brooding about something, though this time it was mostly my own fault. I really had no idea about the orphanage and his connection to it.

He was walking me home to my place in Sector 5. We had to cut through a dense thicket of houses made up of scrap metal and cardboard and really anything that could be piled up and called shelter. He went silent for a while, his expression changing briefly only twice on the walk to glare at any grungy passerbys that passed a little too close.

I let him be in his own little world for the rest of the walk, tearing him away from it only when we got to the front door of my house. "Don't be a stranger, okay? And you know, you can talk to me about anything," I told him.

He nodded in the affirmative, still caught on something in his mind.

I sighed, then I hugged him. "I'm your friend and I want to be there for you, when you need me. Take care of yourself, oh Great Sephiroth."

He hesitated before returning the hug, but he broke it off shortly after he did, said his goodbyes, and was on his way.

* * *

"He broke up with you?"

"Well yeah, but it's okay. We're still friends," I explained. That didn't seem to make Elmyra too happy, and she turned back to the sink full of dishes. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nevermind me. It's just that... These are dangerous friends you keep."

"Uhm, what?"

"Sephiroth, in particular. He's the strongest person anyone's ever known. What if he ever got angry at you and hurt you?" She turned away from the sink to face me.

"Well gee, I kind of figured he'd be the safest person to hang out with, what with where we live and the local crime rate..." I wrinkled my nose in frustration. "Why this now?"

Elmyra paused, looking at something distant and nearly forgotten.

"It's the anniversary, isn't it?" I said quietly. I regretted saying it as soon as it left my mouth, just those words made her look like she was going to crumple to the floor and cry.

"The war goes on for seven long years, and then out of nowhere, Sephiroth goes in and ends it the first time he's on the battlefield. If he had been just a couple weeks sooner..."

"You _don't_ know what he's been through. It wasn't like it was his choice-"

"It wasn't my husband's choice either! Conscription's not much of a choice!" she snapped.

I didn't want to dignify that with a response. I _couldn't_ dignify that with a response. I felt myself becoming angry, and it's not like I could say anything to bring her down. It was a yelling match in the making, and the best option was to just not be a part of it. I stood up and grabbed my boots and my coat and hastily put them on, going for the door.

"Just where do you think you're going?" She tried to block my way but I moved past her and got my hand on the door.

"Out."

"It's the middle of the night. You're not going anywhere."

I turned and glared at her. "You're not my mother. My mother is _dead_. And before you start with that selfish crap again, it wasn't _her_ choice to die _either_."

"If you want to continue having a place to sleep, you'll head upstairs right now."

"Maybe I'll sleep in a ditch and get mugged and killed, I don't _care_. All I know is I can't deal with you right now, and I'm not coming back until you get over yourself." Before she could respond, I went out the door quickly and slammed it behind me as hard as I could.

* * *

"Tonight, we're going to listen in on his late-night caller."

"Reno, this is a serious invasion of privacy you know."

"Oh come on 'Laney, don't you want to hear what they talk about?" He gave one of his twisted yet charming grins, the one that's the hardest to resist.

"I think you're going to get us all fired, but what the heck. We've already gone as far as to hide in the hotel just across from Tseng's apartment."

Elena went to the window to look out at the streets below while Rude set up the computer. _We're so busted. He's going to know._ The feeling of impending doom was as if she had a pair of hands eternally wrapped around her throat, slowly getting tighter until she couldn't breathe. She pulled at her tie uncomfortably.

Tseng had some fancy Wutaiian drapes for all of his windows that were an orange and red silk sheen, you could make out shapes and movement, but no real details about his apartment. Reno said that when he saw it (When he broke in to bug his phone, of course) there were swords racked up against every wall. Some foreign, some ancient, some custom-made for one reason or another. And all the lights were dimmer than usual, giving the whole place an eerie feel to it, yet appropriate for a man who loved shadows and secrets.

"Right on, we're ready to go!" Reno cheered. Elena moved over to the computer to see.

The phone was ringing.

"Wow, she's calling already? She's at least an hour early..." Reno mentionned.

"Shush, I want to hear," Elena said, eliciting a wolfish smile of pride from Reno, having sucked her completely into his game.

The first voice was Tseng's own, plain and distinguished.

_"Hummingbird, is that you?"_

The second was small and effeminate, and sounded like it had been crying.

_"Hawk, yes, I..."_

_"Are you alright?"_

_"... Can you catch me?"_

_"I'll be at the end soon."_

_"... Okay."_

The call ended. Reno was not impressed. In fact, he was furious.

"What the _hell_ was that? They have freaking _code names_!?"

Elena thought about it for a moment. "Do you think they always use them, or that they know we're spying on them?"

Reno was pacing quickly across the room, halfway to tearing his hair out by the fistful. "I don't know. It's impossible to tell."

"He's leaving," Rude thundered from his position at the window. Elena spared it a glance and noticed Tseng getting into his car. An ash-grey sweatshirt and jeans, not his usual attire.

"Okay," Reno said, calming down. "'Can you catch me' makes me think he's going to pick her up. But 'I'll be at the end soon'?"

"The train graveyard is the only place I can think of. Maybe it's a meeting spot?"

Reno stopped to consider it, and Rude was already in his coat and heading for the door. "We go," the mountain rumbled, and in a moment Reno and Elena were ready to follow.

* * *

Author's note: M-M-M-M-MONSTER UPDATE! Sorry again for massive delays, hopefully the sheer size of this chapter helps some. Still many fun arcs to follow, will probably start next chapter tonight, again no schedule exists.


	15. Honour and Chocolate

The computer beeped, and a prerecorded voice played.

"State. Name. Please." It was Scarlet's voice. Why she had recorded each word individually was anyone's guess, as this would be the only instance you'd ever hear the computer verbally ask for your name and password. She sounded as manic and disgruntled as ever.

"Sephiroth."

"State. Password. Please."

"Honour and chocolate."

"Confirmed. Welcome." The computer beeped again and I was in the personal database that held the records of everyone living in the city.

Zack gave me a suspicious look. "'Honour and chocolate'?"

"The first is something I hold dear. The second is something nobody would guess." I justified.

"Huh. Sooo... Now I have the Great Sephiroth's username and password, eh?" It'd take a real fool to miss the lines of mischeviousness that formed in his expression.

"Try it and they'll never find all the pieces of your body."

Zack paled. "Threat taken, sir."

I hammered away at the clunky keyboard. "I don't even _like_ chocolate..." I muttered to myself.

"So... Why are you trying to find Aeris' personal file?"

"She said she merely couldn't tell me her secret, she never disallowed me from finding out for myself."

"How come you didn't try this before?"

I glowered at the computer screen, envisioning many painful things happening to Zack. "Do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate."

* * *

"Yep, that's his car alright," I pointed out to the boys. We took Rude's car, which was a deep blue car of average condition, neither rusting out nor a picture of cleanliness or perfection. _If he didn't let Reno ride in it so often it would probably be spotless._ I was crunching First Plate takeout bags under my black work shoes.

"_That's_ Tseng's car?" Reno asked incredulous. "I'm going blind looking at that thing. He must wax every _inch_ of it twice daily." The car we were following was jet black and looked like it was rolled out of the factory just yesterday, it didn't have a scratch or blemish anywhere.

We tailed him from a few cars back, circling down the central structure and into the slums. Tseng parked his car well away from any signs of human life, probably to avoid someone damaging it in an attempt to steal it. Made it harder for us to find a place to stop out of sight, too.

After a couple minutes he got out of the car carrying a large plastic bag with what looked like clothes inside. A tawny brown sleeve was hanging out of the bag. Tseng walked back towards the train graveyard very casually, and we followed him a good distance away, staying well out of sight. Of course, staying out of sight meant that we couldn't keep a constant eye on him every step of the way, and before we knew it he was escorting a small form obscured by the pale brown trenchcoat it now wore.

"Reno! Watch out!" I called in a panic.

Reno nearly crumpled in reaction to a sharp sting in his back. Rude beside him was on his knees aswell, and he saw a dart sticking out of his back. Reno turned to see me running towards them in a panic before I fell to the ground too. The world turned to mush and then everything went black.


	16. Discovery

According to even the most extensive personel file in the great city of Midgar, Aeris Gainsborough simply did not exist. I'd tried every spelling I could think of of both 'Aeris' and 'Gainsborough', including some far-fetched spellings like 'Erias' and 'Gensborogh' in case some idiot along the chain of command had dyslexia or something. Zack had long since left my side, probably in pursuit of more alcohol, as if he hadn't had enough the other night.

Then I had a stoke of genius.

I heard Hojo muttering to himself as he passed in the hallway, so I ran out and grabbed him by his greasy hair and stained labcoat. He flailed like, well, a madman, but I quickly whisked him over to the computer desk.

"You're going to do me a favour, alright?" I warned him. I hit a keystroke to log myself out of the system. "If you're good, I'll buy you a shiny new scalpel."

"State. Name. Please." Scarlet's monotone voice droned out.

"Go ahead," I said slowly and carefully, quiet enough for the computer to not hear me.

"Hojo," the old man blubbered out as I was halfway to strangling him with his own labcoat.

"State. Password. Please."

"The girl's name. I know it's it." I quietly urged him, nodding in the direction of the brunette in the painting over the desk. She was... Breathtaking I suppose, and holding a bunch of blue flowers I didn't recognise. _Maybe Aeris would know what they are._

"... Lucretia."

"Confirmed. Welcome." Just like that, all of Hojo's top secret junk was at my fingertips.

"I owe you a scalpel I guess." I said, before unceremoniously ejecting him back into the hallway from whence he came. I swiveled the chair around and took a seat. Time to get cracking.

* * *

I felt hungover. At least, that's what my first descriptor of this feeling would be. The world was black and it hurt to see, and my head was pounding away at the walls of my skull. I tried opening my eyes, but it was still black. I went to rub at them only to find my hands bound to the back of a chair. A brief disgruntled glance to my right, and I saw my pal Rude tied down too.

There was a door directly infront of me, and a spotlight right behind me. I knew this because it opened just then Tseng stepped in and it shone on his smug unblemished face. _Betcha he shaved between kidnapping us and taking us here,_ I mused.

He stood infront of us, glaring down at us as the tranquilizers finished wearing through our systems. He hesitated for a minute, I suppose he was either perfecting his little speech in his head, or waiting for one of us to react to his presence. I figured I would bite the bullet, and sat up as straight as I could.

I decided to get to the heart of the matter. "Where's Elena?"

Rude's head snapped up suddenly. He hadn't even noticed she wasn't with us.

"Suffice to say that she's been let go," Tseng responded, monotone, unreadable, as usual. I blinked several times as I fought against the pounding in my head, which seemed to go on endlessly. Tseng continued. "Shinra hires Turks for the sole purpose of keeping things like this situation here - A kidnapping, I'm sure you're aware - from happening. We keep the peace from the shadows, as it were. How are we to do that, Reno, when I cannot even trust those I work with to avoid reading my mail or tap my phones?"

"Guilty as charged. So what, boss? I was curious who your late night caller was." I fought now against a grin forming on my face, and failed as a smirk creased my smile. "Hell, here I thought you were gay."

I didn't get any more smart remarks in, as he punched me squarely in the jaw. Then he looked behind us and said "It's your turn now. Take out the trash."

Before I could turn to look at this second person, I was back into the dark void of unconsciousness.


	17. Just between friends

"Bytheancients I hope I didn't hit him too hard!"

The girl in the pink dress was standing over a bruised and beaten Reno holding loosely on a heavy bat guiltily, the end just barely touching the floor. I collapsed my powered down mag-rod and clipped it back onto my belt, smiling brightly.

"Don't worry miss, I'm sure he deserved it. Many times over."

Tseng looked to me absently, and under his gaze I panicked and gave him a sloppy salute, adrenaline affecting my actions, not to mention the blood running to my cheeks with him in the room.

"Elena, well done," he said. I wanted to scream for joy, but I had to hold my composure now. I earned his respect back in this harmless double-crossing prank, best not to lose it again.

"Sir!" I barked, tightening my body more and correcting the angle of said salute.

"At ease," he said.

"Uhm..." the girl began. She tugged at a brown curl nervously. "Hi there, I'm Aeris. Thanks for coming with us on this," she smield gently. She held out her hand.

I took her hand and shook it firmly. "No problem. I'm Elena, nice to meet you," I returned a smile of my own.

Having gone along with this game, I learned a lot more than anyone should about this particular person. This was the 'special guest' I failed to watch over at the dance a couple nights back. She was a ghost when it comes to personel files - She didn't exist in the systems anywhere, neither electronic nor hardcopy, and I had looked in every file system I could get my hands on. I now knew that Tseng was her only contact with the outside world for most of her life, because he was protecting her from the very people he _worked_ for. This was serious stuff, if word of her existence leaked out it would have the entire Shinra Electric Company in an uproar. Exactly _why_ she was so special remained a mystery still.

"Ladies, if you please," Tseng gestured towards the door as he went to untie the newly-unconscious Reno and Rude. Aeris and I went out into the hallway, closing the door behind us.

"So... You work for Tseng, right?" Aeris began.

"Yes. Well, I'm not a Turk just yet, still kind of a secretary really," I managed.

"Ahh, I'm sure his mind is made up about you. You'll do just fine."

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Aeris?"

"The look on his face. You didn't see it?"

I had to shake my head in the negative.

"His left eyebrow twitched. That means he's impressed." She giggled.

"How long have you known him for?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, since I was about six I think. He's been a friend of the family since, although 'mom' doesn't like him very much." She hesitated a moment, looking up at my face curiously for a moment. Then she smiled. "Want me to tell you how we met?"

"Sure, I mean, if it's not too secret."

"Hee, no, it's okay. I was, as I said, maybe six years old at the time. Elmyra and I were just talking about what we wanted for dinner when he knocked on the door. He was younger, early twenties I think, when he started asking me those questions about who I was, where I came from."

"Who you were?"

"Elmyra isn't my 'mom', really - Both my parents died by this point."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really. Anyways, I got mad and I ran upstairs. I think Elmyra kicked him out then. But, a few days later he came back, and I had decided to turn myself in, I guess. Elmyra tried to get me to stay in my room, but I came downstairs anyways, and I told him I had to tell him something alone. Elmyra didn't want to leave me alone with him, but finally she went upstairs."

"What did you tell him?"

"'She still loves you, you know.'"

"... What?"

"Don't tell him I told you his secret! Promise?" She held out a pinky which I swiftly curled my own around.

"Absolutely. This stays between us girls, alright?" I smiled. Aeris didn't smile back, instead she became distant and somber.

"He... He was married to someone before, but she died in one of Avalanche's attacks at the reactor she worked at. Number 3. She didn't survive. I looked at his eyes and I couldn't help but see how much pain he was in. He told me her name once, but I forget what it was."

"Oh..."

"He said he would tell his men that my house was a false lead, and they left me alone. But once a week he would come over for dinner, and then later he came over more frequently to teach me stuff I would be learning in school."

"Maybe I should stop trying to get his attention, then." _I'll have to throw out that cheap perfume, then..._

"Oh no! It's good for him!" Aeris chided. "See, he still can't get over his loss, true, but he does care about you. He may not show it, but it's there. Besides, she wants him to move on and be happy, but if he's left like this he'll rot. He likes you, you've just got to be persistant with such a stubborn mule."


	18. Grief

"You! With the stupid hair!" Hojo flailed to the first grunt he could find, and he had climbed down a couple flights of stairs to do it too. He was so angry, he might just develop a nervous tic.

"Sir!" The young blonde recruit stood at attention and saluted, recognizing the man as a superior... Sort of.

"I want you to track somebody down - _anybody_ - that can cut power to the building!"

"The... Whole building, sir?"

"_Yes!_ The whole building! Shut the entire grid down, _immediately_!"

"O-Of course, sir! I'll get right on it!" Cloud took off at a half-hearted sprint for the elevators.

"Here's hoping that dimwit can get there in time..." Hojo mused to himself.

* * *

I quickly found Aeris' name within Hojo's personal files - under 'experiments', no less. _Don't tell me she's some new breed of super-soldier_, I thought to myself - Then I almost laughed. The files themselves were sketchy, as if there were big holes in the data, probably due to the fact that she's been in hiding so long. There wasn't even a recent picture of her on file, in the last one she appeared to be about three or four years old. I cursored over to her parental history, and found two names, one of which I thought I would never see pop up again. My mentor.

"_Professor Gast?_" I said in surprise. "That's her _father_?"

He was now listed as Killed In Action in the war at Wutai, which was complete nonsense. I knew that Gast had dissapeared almost sixteen years ago - Which would fit right in with the time of Aeris' birth, in fact. Ifalna was the name of the mother listed, and no surname at that. Not a name I recognised, so I was disinterested and moved on. There were apparently daily logs that were also uninteresting - Apparently Hojo was keeping tabs on how adept Aeris was with her motor or language skills on a day-to-day basis. One of them mentionned offhand how she seemed to stare at the painting on the wall.

There was a checkbox in the lower left corner of the screen, where her age, birthdate and blood type were all listed. It was checked off, but it had no indication of what it was that was confirmed. I went back to the file on Gast; Box was unchecked. Then out of curiosity, I went to Ifalna; Box was checked.

"What the heck does that mean?"

I then went to the last day of the logs on Aeris' profile now. She was definetly in the Shinra building until this day, but what happened that allowed her to escape?

* * *

"Thank the Ancients you're safe!"

Half-heartedly, I had opened the door to my 'home' and immediately tore off my jacket. My arms felt like they were going to fall right off, and I didn't really want to talk about anything right now. After all, I'd just went through an entire night with no sleep dragging around some red-haired Turk for Tseng's game. _Which was really fun. But still, I hope he's okay..._

"Hello, Elmyra. I'm going to bed."

Instead, I was assaulted by a middle-aged woman desperately seeking a hug.

"Aeris... I'm-"

"Don't say it." I held her and stroked her hair. "We've both lost a family. I've had a lot to remind me of my own grief lately, so I understand the frustration and the need to let it all out. Don't say you're sorry, okay? It's nothing to be sorry for."

I let her cry into my shoulder and we stayed like that for a while, choking back my own tears. She calmed down after a while, and I walked her to her room, on the main floor.

She once told me that, after she heard about her husband dying in the war, she could no longer sleep in their room upstairs, because she could still smell him. She moved a bed into the study on the main floor to get away from it all, and my room was the room intended for a child they never had.

She was just as tired as I felt, I helped her to bed and rubbed her back, and after a short while the quieted crying stopped, so I went to my own room. I tore out my ribbon as I readied myself for bed, and pulled out the small white Materia hidden in the seam, as the cloth came from the base of my mother's skirt. I laid down and held it above me, staring into it, sensing the quieted power.

"Mom... I miss you."

* * *

Author's note: RAH! NOT DEAD! You people had better review. The other day I did three chapters in one night (Insomnia, again). Yes, they're getting smaller, but I'm not getting as much time to do them, although I'm trying to pick it back up again. Besides, if they're smaller then that means they're faster to complete, right? :P

A few words about Aeris: This is my cosplay character, and a character I'd like to think I have a lot in common with, but a lot of people make a few assumptions about her personality. They seem to think that she is this ditzy character with her head in the clouds, or Female Jesus #84557823, or something equally presumptuous.

I find her to be one of the most miserable characters in the game.

She tries to hide it and be strong instead by acting like this silly happy-go-lucky person. Many times she tries to brighten the mood. She sells flowers. She wears a pink dress. She giggles a lot and tries to make everyone smile. But read her dialogue around the campfire at Cosmo Canyon. Notice how often she proclaims that she can "take care of herself" before running ahead to do something dangerous. Take into account how she takes off to the Sleeping Forest without any company. I think she knew she was going to die there, that's why she didn't ask for any help - She didn't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire. More importantly, she'd rather feign a smile than have anybody worry about her and get caught up in her own grief. These are her finer points.


	19. Jenova

"Who the _hell_ cut the power!?"

In a flash I'd thrown the chair I was sitting in across the room and destroyed the glass wall that acted as a median between this room and the next. Thank the Ancients it was daybreak and there was a modicom of light coming in from the windows, otherwise I wouldn't have aimed my chosen projectile properly.

Hojo had injected Ifalna with something only referred to as 'Serum #106'. It was an experimental substance, apparently a prototype for the Soldier program. It was intended to strengthen combat abilities in normal human beings. Ifalna, however, had apparently reacted very adversely to it.

It had had it's desired effect... Only tenfold. Aeris' mother lashed out violently and escaped the building with her daughter in tow, fighting her way past security - guards and bots alike - the entire way. According to the record, she had even managed to claw her way through a reinforced steel door after the lockdown had been engaged.

However, this soldier drug was killing her.

I had also managed to stumble across Ifalna's autopsy report. Her time of death was listed at less than thirty minutes from the moment she was injected, and she was found in the Sector 5 slums, near the train station. The cause of death was this 'Serum #106' Hojo seemed to be proud of. It had reacted very badly with her insides, and on the journey down to the slums several of her internal organs had already shut down.

Just as I had the thought to look up the specifics on this serum, there was a blackout that, looking out the window, seemed to only affect the Shinra building itself. I only caught a glimpse at the file. The serum was a result of something called the Jenova project.

* * *

As I turned onto my back I noticed that the crown of my head was pounding. Maybe 'Laney was right, and I should cut back on the booze.

It took me longer than it should've to notice that I was in a hospital bed, and once I realized that, every part of my body seemed to throb in pain. I was bandaged everywhere, and my clothes were burnt.

"Reno, you're awake." That was the unmistakable monotone voice of my boss. _No doubt to tell me I shouldn't be so careless..._

"Tseng, why does my head hurt so much? Did I get mugged or something?"

"... You really don't remember anything?" Elena was peering down at me, and ever so kindly pointed a miniature spotlight right into my face. I recoiled and closed my eyes.

"No!! Will you turn that thing off?"

Tseng cleared his throat. "Reno. You shouldn't be so careless." _Damnit, I knew it._ "Your mission was to take a team into Reactor 5 and neutralize the Avalanche threat."

"Okay... So tell me, what did I do instead?"

"You and Rude went in by yourselves without telling anyone, nor calling for any backup or support in advance. You encountered the terrorist group in a narrow corridor, and one of them pitched a grenade at you two."

"If you had at _least_ let me know you were going, I could've disarmed it or at least had the guts to throw it back, instead of standing there and wetting myself," Elena was merciless with that spotlight.

"How could've you disarmed a grenade?? And why would we take some _rookie_-" I was cut off with a slap. _Okay, maybe I deserved that. Like hell I'll admit it aloud, though._

Elena pulled something from... Somewhere around her chest area. Damn spotlight, it was hard to make out. Even harder when she had the shiny metal object held in the light and it reflected back into my sore eyes. "This is my tie clip. It also doubles as a pin that could be replaced into a grenade before the spoon pops to stop it from detonating. Failing that, I keep a small kit with me at all times in order to disarm explosives. I could even take apart a lit grenade in less than three seconds. I _am_ a munitions expert, after all."

"Sounds like a good way to get blown up..." I grumbled.

"You want something blown up?" I think I hurt her pride a little. "I can construct a bomb in less than a minute using a soda can, a funnel, and household cleaning supplies that could knock out a tank. Give me a half minute more and some fireworks and I could level a city block! I-"

"Elena." Tseng interrupted. "I doubt Mr. Shinra would enjoy that line of thinking, what with the recent bombings in Midgar."

Elena flushed and saluted hastily. "You're right! I'm sorry, sir! That was careless! I-"

"Reno and Rude need some time to recover. We should go." Tseng stood up and Elena showed mercy and turned off the light, finally. I heard them leave and close the door behind them, so I slowly, painfully propped myself up to take stock of my wounds.

I slowly pulled up the burned left leg of my pants and found my ankle wrapped in bloodied bandages. I rotated it and it hurt like hell to do so. The rest of my limbs were in the same sort of shape. Oddly placed burns and bruises all over.

"So the wounds are genuine." I mumbled to myself. "I guess this is Tseng's slap on the wrist for sticking my nose too far into his buisness. Grenades don't pop like this."


	20. Yet more secrets

The absolute _last_ thing I want to hear after a night on the town is a phone ringing.

Reno had invited me out, saying he absolutely had to talk to me about something he found out, and we ended up drinking. Reno went on and on about... Something, I can't remember what, and I doubt he'd even remember considering he probably drank more than I did. I remember him snickering about it most of the night.

The ringing of the phone seemed to be in tune with the pounding of my head from my hangover, so finally, I bit the bullet and answered my cellphone.

"Hello?"

"Sephy's right about you Zack, you're hopeless."

"... Shut up... Wait, who is this?"

"That's _rude_. How many flower girls _do_ you know?"

_Whoops_. "Sorry Aeris. Had a long night. What's up?"

"Sephiroth asked me to make sure you wake up on time for training. Also, I was kinda worried about you."

"Worried? What for?"

"Well... I guess you don't remember then?"

"Remember what?"

"You called me last night, asked me something weird. Then you started crying."

"Err, yeah. Sorry about that. Doesn't usually happen." _Damnit, I cried?_

"You're just _lucky_ I was awake at three in the morning. If I had been sleeping, I get real mean and stuff."

I grinned to myself trying to picture Aeris' tiny fists of fury, then my brain complained that I had put it to work and I recoiled in pain. "I don't know about that Aeris. I find you about as threatening as a baby chicobo. Say, what _did_ I ask you last night?"

"I barely remember it. You slurred and tripped over the question, and had to restart a couple times. And even then it didn't make much sense." She was laughing at me on her end. "Hey, but before you get to training, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Are you available later tonight to go on a date with me?"

"... That's kind of out of the blue. You only _just_ broke up with Seph..."

"Yeah, but... I want to get to know you. I mean, we've been sort of hanging out all this time, but we don't really get to talk, so I want to talk with you."

"I don't really have much to say. I mean, what could we talk about?"

"Oh, pshh. Everyone's got a story to tell. Come over to my house tonight, okay? I'll make you dinner."

"Aeris, you don't really have to..."

"Nuh-uh, you're not getting out of this one. I insist. Besides, who's going to help me eat the chocobo wings I bought today?" _Seph must've told her my weakness... Damn him._

"Alright, fine! You've convinced me. I'll show up around seven."

"Sounds great. Now, aren't you a little late for training?"

I looked over at the clock. It was about nine-thirty. Sephiroth had probably gone down to the training room an hour and a half ago. "Err, yeah. I'll see you later, Aeris."

"Okay. Take care Zack!" She hung up the phone. _Time to go get my ass kicked..._

* * *

"You're late."

"I know, I know..." He was roughing up the training room something fierce. "Say, how long have you been at it this morning?"

He decapitated a mannequin before turning to face me. "Since... Yesterday morning, I think."

"Seph, you didn't _sleep_?"

He turned back to his immobile victims. "No." He cut one clean through vertically. "I had to vent some frustration."

"What's eating you, man?"

He made a sound like a snarl as he went about redecorating the training room. "I managed to get some info out of the computer..."

"You're still on that? I don't think Aeris has any dark and dirty secrets." I shrugged. "Did you even consider that maybe she just never bothered to get ID..."

"Personal database files catalogue everyone from the day they're born, ID card or not. She wasn't anywhere on the personal files. But she _was_ in Hojo's secret files."

"Look man, I think you're obsessing a little too much over this. How did you even get into Hojo's files, anyway?"

"... I asked him nicely, and promised him a new scalpel. Zack, listen. Do you even know what that means? She was filed under his 'experiments'."

"That is... Moderately scary. Are you trying to say she has super powers or something?"

Sephiroth hesitated his carnage for a brief moment, to look towards the ceiling in thought. "I don't know about her, exactly, but... Still, there's something strange going on. Between her and Shinra." He began to pace back and forth. "There's still a major piece of the puzzle missing; Why would Hojo, or the Shinra company as a whole, take an interest in her..."

"Seph... Seriously man, I think you're getting crazy over this. You need, like, a hobby or something. Count some bottlecaps. Start a collection of your own paraphenalia. That sort of thing."

Sephiroth answered me with a scowl. "Zack, this is _big_. This 'mission' I selected for us - find out what Aeris is hiding from the world at _large_ - has led me to the soldier program and something called the Jenova Project. Weirder still, her father was apparently Professor Gast. I _knew_ him. It seems like I only find more questions to ask." He sighed under his breath. "And... This line of inquiry has led me to at least one thing about my _own_ past. I was in an orphanage."

"Did you find out who your parents were?" I asked carefully.

"No. The Matron there had no records about my parentage. But I _was_ there."


	21. Cursed dreamer

"_Mom_!!"

"_Shhhhh_. Help me find that Bolt Materia."

I opened up a small satchel we had with many different coloured marbles in it. They glowed in purples, blues, reds, yellows, and mostly greens. We had a white one too, but Mom always kept that with her, hidden in the seam of her skirt. I was the only person who knew about it. Mom found the Materia she was looking for and peered around the corner of the hallway we were in. In an instant I saw her raise the glowing marble and it shimmered, then several security bots coming towards us were instantly fried by the magic lightning my mother called.

"Wow... Is it supposed to do that, Mom?"

"Yes, but... It's not normally that strong..."

Without another moment's hesitation, she grabbed me by the hand and we made a mad dash for the elevator. Mom had stolen a keycard from a guard earlier... But the elevator seemed to refuse it.

"They have us on lockdown. We'll have to take the stairs. Stay close to me Aeris."

I nodded. We went over to the door to the stairs down for the next few levels, but the door was locked there too. Mom said a bad word, then she tried pulling at the door. It gave way very easily under her strength, the metal of the door bending in unison with the curves of her fingers, and she paused a moment to look at her hands, horrified.

"Mom! I hear more guards coming!"

Mother was spurred into action, and she lifted me up and carried me down the next ten or so flights of stairs. We had to cross a level in order to get to the fire escape. There were a lot of stairs. About halfway down, my mother had to stop. I thought she was tired, but instead she kneeled down suddenly and coughed up blood.

My vision blurred. I think I was crying, but I was too panicked seeing my mother hurt like that. "_Mom_!!" I pulled at her sleeve.

"I'm okay... For the moment. We have to keep moving, quickly!"

We kept moving down the stairs. I held onto my mother's hand now instead of being carried, and I noticed that she seemed colder now. I knew what was coming, but I didn't want to think about it. I didn't have time to focus on the fact that my mother was dying with every step she took.

We got to the bottom of the stairs, and were greeted by a small group of more Shinra Soldiers. I opened up the small satchel of Materia we had, and Mom quickly withdrew another green one and froze all of the Soldiers in place before they could act. Mom briefly lost her balance and leaned on my shoulder for support. I held her hand. She was even colder now.

"Aeris... Give me the bag for a moment." I surrendered the bag and my mother took out a purple Materia, and it seemed to... Fall into her hand, absorbed. It made me sick to watch. "That should... Keep me going, a little longer," she breathed.

We managed to get down into the slums, my Mother who soon before managed to fight our way out of the Shinra building she hated so much now breathing slowly and leaning on me most of the way. She was so cold now, using the condensed spirit energy in Materia in order to keep going. She did it for me, to make sure I would get to safety.

"Aeris..."

"Yes, mom?"

"I'm going to explain something... Sort of complicated to you. I hope you'll understand it all... In time."

"I'm here mom, I'm listening."

"Many years ago, there was this woman named Jenova who came to the Planet... But the Planet did not react well to her... Being here. After a while, things started... Changing. The Knowlespole got colder, tame creatures became wild and violent. It was necessary to... Seal her away. But.. I watched her wake up, in Hojo's lab several years ago. She spoke our ancient language. She said the Planet was going to die."

"... Mom?"

"Hojo decided to run tests on her, even despite... My warnings. I think he thinks Jenova will somehow make... People stronger. That's what the Jenova Project was, and that's what he... What he put in me. A piece of Jenova. Because she's in conflict with the Planet... I can't hear them so well anymore..."

The rest of the walk was solemn and strained. We managed to get down to a place Mom called Sector 5. She said she was drawn to it, for some reason. As we were nearing the train station, Mom fell to her knees gasping for air. I handed her the bag of Materia immediately, and saw her drain the rest of them. Watching each one be absorbed like that made my stomach turn.

"I guess no one will be able to summon... Tiamat, or... Tonberry King... with those gone," she said as the red Materia dissapeared into her hand. "This is it, Aeris. I'm sorry I wasn't much of a mother..."

"Don't say that!" I cried.

"Aeris..." She shifted briefly so she sat up just enough to grab the base of her skirt and tear at it, the section with the White Materia in the seam. "This is yours now, as High Elder. You must carry it..."

"But.. I'm not..."

"Aeris, don't let this affect the way you live, or how you treat yourself. Live a fulfilling and good life. Then you'll have given your father and I both the greatest gift this planet could offer. Remember that."

"By the Ancients! Are you alright, ma'am??" A woman in a green dress and apron approached us.

Mother reached out to the woman. "Please... Take good care of Aeris for me..." Then I felt my mother's soul slip away to the Planet, to join the numberless voices of my ancestors as her hand fell limply to the ground.

* * *

The biggest thing that annoys me about being out all night is the mid-afternoon naps I have to take to make up for it. I had this dream so often at this time of the day I had the entire scenario memorized. It was still as terrifying as when I was only six years old.

* * *

Author's note: AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH.

Yeah, I'm terrible for updating. But I am bound and determined to finish this story! I must say, I'm not really happy with this section, but after much deliberation I've decided to leave it as it is. Technically it doesn't really reveal any new information, I just wanted/needed Aeris to be haunted by her past in some way. I'm sure I'll come up with a reason why later. Well, I do have the beginnings of a reason why, but that will flesh out later, for sure. Yeah.


	22. Another first date

"You're late!"

I quickly and nervously ran my fingers through my hair. "Sorry, Seph wanted to talk about some stuff."

"How could you keep a girl waiting like that, hmm?" She scolded. She hauled a giant picnic basket into view. "I made sandwiches and everything!"

After a couple awkward minutes, I stepped into this small abandoned playground near Sector 7 and Wall Market. We unrolled a large blanket to cover the sand-coated ground, and she started unpacking the impossibly large basket she brought.

"Okay," Aeris began. "I have some fresh-squeezed Wutaiian orange juice with just a little bit of cinnamon spice, I made some sandwiches with the chocobo wings I mentionned with a zesty sauce, and I tossed a salad with some Syklis greens..."

"I think I'll pass on the salad, but everything else sounds nice."

"Oh come on! Greens are good for you, and Syklis are the best."

"Yeah, but they taste awful. Better for chocobos I say. Makes 'em tastier."

She giggled at that. "You're terrible! At least _try_ the other stuff."

It was dusk and the sun was just sitting on the horizon, bathing the usually shadowed slums with an eerie orange glow. We sat and ate in silence for a while, and while I'd never admit it aloud, her cooking was _amazing_. However, I _had_ been eating mess hall sludge for several months straight now, which almost made me miss field rations. Almost. The only taste of real food I would get is if I managed to drag somebody out to First Plate, but then I'd usually just end up drinking.

Why do I do that, anyway?

"Hey you!" Aeris nudged me, bringing me back to reality. "Off in your own world?"

"Just a little, I guess," I admitted.

"What's it like?"

"Huh?"

She giggled. "I mean, in your own little world. What's it like?"

"Well, let's see... There's beer-battered chocobo wings and beautiful women as far as the eye can see."

Aeris smiled politely at that. "Everything's perfect in Zack's little world, huh? Nothing wrong at all?"

Absently I flinched before answering. "Nope, everything's cool." _Why is she asking me something like that? She's looking at me really funny. Maybe she and Seph are good match after all, they can go on and be weird together..._

Suddenly she took my hand and held it to her face, running the back of it against her cheekbone. She did this for a long time before she met my eyes again. I suddenly felt like running away as fast as I could.

"You like me, don't you?" she cooed.

"Uhmm, mm-hmm," I strangled out. After a moment I said "But I thought you and Seph were good together. I mean, you seemed happy, I guess..."

She brought my hand from her face and held it in both hands now infront of her, looking down at it as she played with my fingers. "He's a good friend, of course, but he doesn't _like_ me like me." She sounded a little sad. Then she looked right at me again. This time she wasn't smiling, she seemed to be staring right through me, if that makes any sense...

"But," she continued. "He doesn't look at me the way _you_ do, Zack."

Instantly I felt blood rushing to my cheeks, and my immediate response was to try and imagine my head being stuck in a freezer, to no avail. My head spun and I felt like every part of my body was suddenly betraying me. _She's Sephiroth's girl, they probably had a misunderstanding, they'll be back together in a week or so, right?_

She sighed softly, and surrendered my hand. I had the sudden urge to yank it back, but at the same time I didn't want to offend her. I just left the saved hand lifelessly at my side where we sat. "Am I really that scary?" she asked unexpectedly.

"What?" I struggled out after a moment. "Why would I think you're scary?"

"Well, you're looking at me like I'm going to tear off your fingers and cook them in a stew," she giggled.

"Well, uhm, you can't be... Too careful?" _Idiot! What does that even mean!?_

She laughed loudly. Thank the Ancients, I didn't offend her any more than I already had. It took her a minute to calm down and catch her breath.

"I want to get to _know_ you, Zack. It's funny, we've been friends for months now but I hardly know anything about you. So let's talk, okay? Tell me about yourself."


	23. Boys Night Out

"Just where the hell are you taking me?" I demanded, issuing one of my pattented death glares.

"Relax, buddy. I'm doing you a favour," the red-haired Turk insisted. I think I saw him stagger a little to the left. "All work and no play makes a guy really, really lame." 

"I don't think that's how it goes."

"Maybe not, but it applies. You _need_ female accompaniment."

I very nearly growled at him. "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"Come _on_, my man Sephy, it'll be a breeze. As soon as you walk in there, you're going to have a half dozen women pounce on you."

"I'm _not_ interested," I insisted. "Actually, I'm still nineteen, so I don't think I'm even legal for this place yet."

Reno nodded to the bouncers. "Eh, I don't see anybody checking. Let's go get you a girlfriend!" The bouncers noticed him and nodded back. _Great. He's a regular._

Despite my many attempts to weasel away, struggle free, attempt to maim and/or decapitate Reno in the process of trying to flee, I was still dragged into the filthiest, smokiest, most unwelcoming pub that Midgar had to offer.

Reno, upon entering the establishment, swiftly scooped up his 'usual' from the counter, where it was waiting for him, and proceeded to abandon me in the masses as he went to harass a table of young girls._ A regular indeed._

I ducked my head and made for the bar as swiftly as I could. The bartender turned to me instantly, a most hostile expression on his face. My guess was that he'd already seen a couple fights tonight already, and regarded new customers as intruders. His hands were busy cleaning a glass that... Did _not_ look sanitary by any stretch of the imagination. Like some brown mud had been permanently etched into the sides within the glass.

Trying not to think about it, I ordered just water. If he was giving me an odd look before, he gave me a stranger one now, and slowly went to fetch a glass of the stuff, as if waiting for me to change my mind. _I just have to survive the evening, carry Reno home, and get on with my life. I need to figure out what this 'Jenova' thing is-_

A familiar blonde woman in a scarlet red dress took the seat beside me at the bar. _Of all the places... Best to not make eye contact._ I chose to pass the time staring at my interlaced fingers on the counter infront of me.

Without even acknowledging who I was or what I had ordered, Scarlet jerked a thumb in my general direction and barked "I'll have what he's having" in her usual, passive-aggresive manner.

A few insignificant minutes passed before we were each served a clouded, aged glass full of a clear liquid. I decided to listen for Scarlet's reaction before I tested it. Not a full second later she was spluttering and complaining loudly.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" she groaned. She grabbed my shoulder rather forcefully and turned me to face her. "What the hell did... you... order?"

I batted her hand away. "Water." _I hope._

She blinked a couple times as it sunk in who I was, like she was trying to see through a fog. I turned away as if to ignore her, taking my own glass and forcing myself to take a large gulp of 'it'. It tasted faintly of _sand_. Scarlet, a tad embarassed, turned away and demanded something strong. Tequila, I think she said. After downing a couple shots of that, she apparently decided she was drunk enough to attempt to engage me in a conversation.

"Sephiroth," she began. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Reno decided for some reason that I'm romanticly frustrated in a way I'm unaware, and dragged me here," I responded scornfully.

She downed another shot right before talking, cutting herself off. "-thought you 'ad a girlfriend," she pressed.

"Not really."

"Who was the brunette at the dance then?"

"An enigma."

"A what?"

"Nevermind. Just a friend."

She then looked at me suddenly with a fierce scowl, as if something I'd just said upset her enough to want to kill me. "You know, if you don't like it here, jus' leave," she barked with a dismissive wave of her hand.

I decided to tempt the fates. And I was absently curious. "I think I'll stay," I answered defiantly. "What's your problem, anyway?"

Scarlet served me another vicious scowl, though I doubt she realized that unlike most men I wasn't about to run away screaming whenever she decided to act on a mood swing. Her look not having any effect on me after even a prolonged exposure by her standards, she downed yet another couple shots and answered bitterly.

"... Damn President naming his own shon the Vice..." she mumbled. "Now I've got to show him the ropes, tell him what Weapons Dev is all about, I feel like shomeone's goddamn secretary..."

"'You know, if you don't like it here, just leave,'" I quoted.

She growled at me. I've never seen anyone brave enough to _do_ that before. I stifled a laugh as well as I could manage.

"Jackass," she responded sourly. "Where's Reno? I'm gunna kill him..." she trailed off as she got up and left.

I peered into the crowd after her and managed to spot Reno. He seemed to be enthralled with the group of young women he found, and now shared their table. Deciding he wouldn't see me go, I got up to leave to find a hand on my shoulder for the second time that night.

"Hey, buddy," the scruffy bouncer demanded. "Who's going to pay for the lady's drinks?" He was just short enough that he had to look up at me, playing down the fact that he was trying to intimidate me.

"You see that red-haired guy in the suit over there?" I pointed at Reno. "He'll cover it."

"Nice try. He's a valued customer, you're just dumping your tab on him, aren't you?" The bouncer glowered at me in a way I didn't appreciate.

"Listen," I began, working in a threatening vibe. "Tell him if he _doesn't_ pay for the lady's drinks, aswell as the drinks of everyone he's sitting with right now, then Sephiroth is going to have a stern talk with his boss and he'll be out of work faster than you can say 'go.'"

The bouncer backed off slightly, and I did him the favour of brushing his hand off my shoulder, maintaining my glare. "Sephiroth, right?"

"That's right."

"I'll tell him."

"Thank you."

"Well... I hope you enjoyed your evening, sir."

"Absolutely not," I said scornfully. "Even the water tastes terrible, and I can't see a square inch of this place that's not covered in either smoke, grease, or bile. We have sanitation laws for a reason."

He looked as if he was about to apoligize, but I didn't permit him the pleasure of finishing. Instead I marched out of that place into the fresh(er) air that surely awaited outside.


	24. Psychological warfare

Zack was one of the most miserable people I've ever met.

The sun had set hours ago, and Zack was just finished talking about the summer in Costa Del Sol he and Sephiroth had gone to as a vacation. Before that, he was talking about how he knocked over his instructor for the Soldier initiation exam quite by accident, and someone declared that he passed with flying colours. Even before that, he was regailing me with a tale of how he single-handedly beat his Turk friend in a drinking contest, that consequently, the friend didn't remember the morning after, and then tried to challenge him again calling Zack a cheat and a liar. The results of the next contest were still up in the air.

But every single time I tried to get him to talk about his home, his family, or where he came from, he would answer me with one or two words, and then change the subject. He was avoiding it entirely, and that made me worry. Something, some memory, about his home hurt him a lot.

"And then what happened to the baby chocobo?" I asked curiously.

"Sephiroth wanted to keep it, and I told him there was no way they'd let it into the Shinra building. So he took it to the Chocobo Farm, way out past Kalm. I think it's still there. Say, we should go there some time and see if we can't go for a ride! There's this awesome cave just past the marshes, if you're not afraid of a little danger," he continued without end.

"Me, afraid of danger? No way!" I grinned and hugged his arm, catching him off guard. At least he was talking to me now, although I think I bored him a little when I started talking about flower names and meanings when he wouldn't say anything.

He stopped and seemed to choke on his next breath. "So... Are you any good at fighting?"

I had to stop and think about that. "Well, I have a friend who's been trying to teach me self-defense, but beyond that... Not much, really."

"You have to be able to fight if I'm taking you outside the walls of the city. Do you know how to use Materia?" he pressed.

"Mmm-hmm. I don't have any though," I said. _Not counting the White Materia, anyways._

"I'll loan you some. We should definetly get Seph-man in on this."

"Hmmm, I think it'd be more fun if it were just you and me, Zack." His next breath strangled him. _How am I so intimidating to him?_ "I mean, because Sephiroth would probably be such a downer..."

"You're right, maybe not him... Oh! I know this blonde kid who could use a tussle with some monsters. He's so quiet and nervous, yet he wants to be in Soldier..."

"Hmm, not him either. He sounds like no fun."

"Then who could we..."

I wrinkled my nose in annoyance. I turned to look him square in the eyes. "I've got a question. Why do you look like you want to run away when I suggest we spend time together - alone, even?"

"I- You- Uhm, it's hard to-"

I crossed my arms, and if I were standing I'd be tapping my foot impatiently.

He sighed after collecting himself a bit. He seemed to sigh _slower_ on purpose, and hesitated a few seconds after that, as if waiting me to provide an answer for him.

"I'm waiting," I provided. _Not what he was banking on, I bet._

"It's hard to explain." His face was cherry red. He wouldn't meet my eyes. He was rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and breathing unsteadily. The signals all came together.

"Oh! I get it!" I said, jumping to my feet. I ran to stand a yard or so away from him, and pointed at him accusingly. "You _like_ me!"

His face turned even redder as if his darkest secret had been revealed to a crowd at the slum market mid-afternoon. He got to his feet quickly and held his hands infront of him erraticly in an attempt to defend himself from an oncoming flood.

"You like me! You like me!" I sang, playing up my fifteen-year old immaturity which was also part of my charm. I skipped in a circle around him, singing and giggling all the way.

"Now, Aeris, wait-"

I stopped and turned to face him again, clasping my hands behind my back and leaning in, with my best pout prepared. "Are you saying you _don't_ like me?" I whimpered.

"U-uhm, n-no..."

"Tee hee." I poked his nose. "You _like_ me then!"

Zack was completely lost. I guess they don't condition Soldiers against a fifteen year-old girl's version of psychological warfare. He was frozen stiff, unable to move or speak. Again, like he was caught in a truck's headlights, too afraid to move and too afraid to run away.

Afraid of _what_, though? I already spilled the beans _for_ him.

I took a step forward and hugged him. After several stunned moments, he hugged me back tightly, desperately even. Then the answer came to me. He was afraid of losing someone he cared about because he already had.

* * *

Author's note: Wow, they really _are_ getting shorter, aren't they? Although I've always been one for telling it by the key moments. I mean, I just finished the Twilight series, and, while they're all very good books, I don't really care how often Bella chooses to brush her teeth or feign interest in the romantic troubles of her girlfriends. Excellent story, excellent plot, lots of filler and a bit of exposition I could have puzzled out all by myself :P


	25. Round One

"I want you to throw your best punch. Hit me right in the palm of my hand, okay?" I took a stance to balance my weight and held my hands open infront of me, ready for the incoming blows.

"I don't know, I don't want to hurt you," she waffled, her cheeks turning pink.

"Oh come on, I can take it. Give me your best shot!"

Aeris shyly held her hands over her face, then finally, resolved to try it. She took a clumsier stance, putting her entire weight behind her punch and throwing herself off balance. She hit the middle of my hand, not very hard. She staggered a bit, then took a couple steps back. "Uhm, how was that?"

_Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh _"It was a good start, but you need to learn where to shift your weight when you throw a punch like that. If I were a monster I would've eaten you when you nearly fell over like that."

"Well, that's an encouraging thought."

"Sorry, but... Well, you've got to think about these things when you fight monsters. You can't let your guard down, even for a minute."

"Right. Okay," she nodded enthusiasticly.

"Oh, and don't close your fingers over your thumb like that next time. You'll only hurt yourself doing that," I instructed.

"Sorry, wasn't thinking. I guess I should've known that."

"Ready for another try?"

"Uhhhh, I don't know...." she crossed her arms over her stomach. "I don't like the idea of hitting you, Zack."

"Hmmmm... Wait, what if you closed your eyes?"

She wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't sound like a very smart idea."

"Don't worry about it, just pretend I'm some monster. I can handle it, trust me," I smiled. _With the way she throws punches I doubt I have to worry about anything. I should be ready to catch her if she falls over, though._

"Mmm, only if you're sure."

"I'm sure! Let's do this!"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She took her stance a little better this time, and she seemed a little more centered, focused. I was marvelling at her sudden grasp when something made an unhealthy snapping sound in the middle of my face.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Zack!" Aeris hid her face with her hands in shock.

I put my hand to my face and, sure enough, there was blood dribbling down from my nose. The pain that had started as a distant stinging sensation now came on with greater force. "It's not as bad as it looks, I'm sure." I sniffed, which caused something to shift and made me to wince. "I think."

"Do you have any Cure Materia? Maybe I could fix it," she offered.

"Naw. Soldiers have to keep their materia in lockup if they're not on missions. It's all back at headquarters." _Wow, she really did a number on my face._

Aeris looked around guiltily. "Wait, I have an idea," she said, then turned towards our picnic basket, discarded at the base of the playground slide. She dug through it a moment and found some napkins we hadn't used, then came over and tried to press them against my nose. The thought was nice, but touching it just made it hurt more. I leaned my head backwards so she couldn't reach and held my hands up in surrender.

"Aeris, please stop!" I begged. "I don't think this is a simple nosebleed..."

"Oh no..." she whimpered sadly.

"Hey now, think of it this way: You, Aeris Gainsborough, made a First Class Soldier bleed," I said, trying to sound confident and encouraging. "Not very many people get to say _that_, now do they?"

"Suddenly I'm reminded of the time you broke _my_ nose. I never did get you back for that, but I think this is much more entertaining."

Aeris and I both looked up. Sephiroth was passing through the park on his way to... Somewhere. Why was he out here at this time of night?

"Oh, you hush!" Aeris said, then giggled. At least she was in slightly better spirits, though she still seemed to be looking to savage my face with that napkin.

"How long have you been there?" I asked out of curiosity. First he says Aeris is one of Hojo's experiments, now he's _stalking_ her? This is way messed up.

"Long enough to realize that you're going about this the wrong way."

"And what way would _you_ go about it, Mr Egoist?" I said, feeling a tad insulted. _She broke my nose, that earns her points, right?_

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out. She's had previous training with Tseng. How does Tseng fight, Zack?" Sephiroth asked.

"Hey, guys? I'm right here. Don't talk about me like I'm not!"

I thought about it for a moment. "I don't think I've ever seen him fight, actually."

Then he attacked Aeris.

My heart jumped into my throat. He let loose a flurry of jabs with the focused determination of a cold-blooded killer. I was about ready to leap in there and get him to back off, then I realized that he didn't seem to be hitting her. She was in a lucid panic, cutting off his momentum with frenzied jabs at his shoulders, and redirecting some of the more aggresive blows away from her face and body. As she did so she staggered backwards in retreat. Sephiroth managed to get a couple quicker jabs in on her shoulder and her side, and the brief fight ended with her landing bottom first into the sand and letting out a short scream as she crossed her arms over her head.

"Sephiroth! What are you thinking, man?" I demanded, charging over to them.

He said nothing as he held out a hand to help Aeris back onto her feet. She looked up after a moment once she'd realized the fight had stopped, then slowly took it and stood. Sephiroth was smiling.

Sephiroth _never_ smiles.

"Next time, instead of just keeping yourself from getting hit, think about what you could do to redirect your opponent's attacks back at them, aswell."

She nodded quickly, out of breath. "Uhh- Okay,"

Sephiroth looked at me next. "Block and redirect. Tseng's technique relies on using the enemy's force against them. He spars against his Turks every Sunday morning if you ever want to see for yourself."

"You could have hurt her."

"Honestly," Aeris huffed. "Standing right here."

"She doesn't have a mark on her. My attacks were extremely light. I just wanted to see how well she would do." He raised his eyebrows and turned slightly to Aeris. "Not bad, by the way."

"Thanks, I guess?"

"Just work on what I mentionned and you're halfway there."

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, smiling brighter now.

"I should get going," Sephiroth remarked, then started stalking off in a random direction. "Zack, we're training early tomorrow?"

"Fine, whatever," I drawled. _Can we get back to the part where you attacked Aeris?_

Sephiroth stopped in his tracks and reached into a pocket of his trenchcoat. "Almost forgot," he said as he withdrew a green Materia. "Cure II."

My nose knitted itself back together so suddenly I at first thought I was hit in the face again. One green glow and a warm stinging sensation later, my face was as good as new.

* * *

NOT DEAD! Just crazy busy with many lifestyle changes over the last year almost. Had this bit of inspiration when I was doing some craft stuffs earlier, then when I read the last few chapters of my story to refresh my memory, I LOVED IT! And so you'll notice this part is a bit longer that I've been doing them XD And if you're wondering why Seph has Materia on him and Zack doesn't, it's 'cause Seph doesn't _care_ about the stupid rules.

Next part will be fun and interesting, but for now, I must obey the siren call of sleep.


	26. Sharing secrets

Out of idle and senseless curiosity, I returned to the bar to see what sort of trouble Reno had gotten himself into. The bouncer cowered slightly when he saw me come in again, and I dared not spare him a glance. I scanned the crowded room to find that shock of ridiculous red hair. Imagine my surprise when I found his lips firmly attached to those of a familiar and violent blonde in a red dress. Scarlet must've had a lot more to drink since I'd left; I thought she was one of the saner few who would never consider Reno as a romantic prospect.

Trouble indeed. I took an open seat at the bar and resigned to watch the fireworks.

"Mr. Sephiroth-" the barkeep stammered.

"Just Sephiroth is fine," I drawled coldly.

"Can I get you anything, uh, sir?"

"Perhaps." I snatched a menu from the person sitting next to me and briefly looked it over. "Is there anything that qualifies as edible on this menu?"

* * *

"I feel like I could take on the world now! Give me your best shot, Zack!"

"My _best_?"

She cringed and giggled. "Okay Mr. Soldier, maybe your second... Or third... Best."

I took a light swing at her shoulder and she redirected it away from herself quickly.

"Aww, you're going easy on me!"

Aeris was doing a lot better now. _No thanks to me._

Why did it have to be _Mr. Attitude Problem_ that could give her all this confidence? He was here for not even a full two minutes, and in that time managed to encourage her to try harder.

"I'll have to get some of my Second Class friends to face you at this rate, you're doing really well!"

_Why am I so pathetic?_

"Mmmm, but why have them when I can have _you_ teach me? They're not the ones that are going to show me how to ride a chocobo!"

_I need a drink._

"Hey, Aeris? Can we sit for a second? I need a breather."

She seemed a little dissapointed that our playful sparring match was over, but a moment later she was back to normal and ran up the stairs to the children's slide nearby, climbing onto the roof and sitting down. After a moment she grinned at me, and patted the empty space beside her for me to fill. I did as I was told and sat down next to her. She seemed displeased at just sitting next to her, so I put my arm around her shoulders. That seemed to make her happy, and she leaned into my shoulder.

"Hey, Zack? I feel like talking. There's so much I want to know about you."

"What would you like to know?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me a secret?"

I had a good sense of what she was going to ask me, but it wouldn't come easily. "Only if you tell me one in return," I said.

She giggled. "You're tricky!" She sighed and continued. "Okay, but I guess it will depend on how good _yours_ is. Deal?"

I smiled. "Deal." _Mine is pretty good, I think. She'd never guess that I hid Sephiroth's sweat socks in-_

"Why are you so sad?"

I had to stop myself from breaking down. I knew what was bothering me... But I wasn't sure I could put it to words. She sensed my tension as the memories swelled to the surface, as they did every time I had a chance to think about it. I felt her fingers tangle in my hair in an effort to console me, while I was still trying to get my thoughts and emotions straight.

"It's... Not an easy story to tell," I tried to start.

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have..." she backpedaled. Aeris looked like she felt really guilty for asking me. I can only imagine what expression I had on my face.

"No, I'll tell you," I said, collecting myself. "It's the real reason why I joined Soldier." Her emerald eyes were piercing through me in rapt attention. "Okay, have I ever told you about my hometown, Gongaga?"

"No." She thought about it. "Actually, _all_ your stories are from Soldier."

"There's a reason for that. Anyways, Gongaga; Really tiny village on the western continent, as rural as you could possibly get, save for _maybe_ Nibelheim in the mountains. I worked as a farmhand for my uncle since I was a kid, hauling anything around that was just as big or little bigger than me. My uncle, he was closer to me than my father ever was. I could tell him anything, and he would listen, and give me advice without criticizing me. I really miss him."

Her eyes widened in shock. "What happened?"

"Gongaga has a Mako reactor, or... Had, I suppose is the right word. My uncle would check on it every night before he'd call it a day. It was pretty self-sufficient, but somebody had to just make sure it was working normally. Well, one night we were getting really late with all the other work. I told him to forget about it and do it in the morning, it seemed like such a pointless thing to do. It would be okay. It was _always_ okay. But he gave me a brief lecture about responsibility and headed down the path to the reactor anyway.

"My town... It didn't have much to defend itself from monsters. All of the adults knew how to fight a bit, it was necessary, and we were too dirt poor to hire some real mercenaries for guard duty. So I was left alone on his property when some monsters started upsetting the chocobos.

"I had no idea what to do, really. I couldn't fight, and if I tried to I knew I'd be killed, but I couldn't let them eat all of my uncle's chocobos, either. I spent a minute too long frozen in shock. So I managed to grab a hammer and the lid off of a garbage can, and I smashed them together and started yelling and screaming to drive them off. Maybe making enough noise would scare them off, maybe someone would hear me and come with help."

"That was really brave of you to do," she remarked.

"Not brave enough," I countered immediately. "The problem was, the monsters _did_ take off, but they went running down the path my uncle had taken to the Mako reactor. He'd hurt his leg the week before and he couldn't move very fast. By the time help arrived, it was too late. He'd managed to put up a good fight apparently.... But one of the monsters damaged the reactor, and it blew. I ran home when I heard the news and packed a bag. I didn't sleep, and I left early the next morning.

"It bothered me intensely that I didn't fight them. I didn't know how, so I got a neighbour to drive me to Costa Del Sol. I managed to stow away in the cargo hold of a ship and headed across the ocean to Junon, where I managed to join the millitary. And well, you know the rest, I guess."

"Have you talked to your parents since?" she asked thoughtfully, digesting all the new information.

"... No, I haven't. I just know my dad would go off on me for being reckless and irresponsible again." I could almost hear his condescending voice that I'd get every time he would lecture me. "Ditching my home, running across the world, joining Soldier... Yeah, he wouldn't be too far off, either."

"Maybe you could write your mom a letter then?" Aeris suggested. "Just to let her know what you're doing, and that you're okay. She probably misses you a lot."

I thought about it. "Maybe." I must have really upset her to run away like that. "I've talked enough though. Time for your secret," I grinned at her.

"Aww, I was hoping you'd forget _that_ part of the deal," she smiled. She put a finger to her lips in thought. "That was a pretty big secret you told me, I guess I have no choice but to tell a big one in return."

She looked lost in thought for a moment, the smile slowly fading from her lips. "Aeris?" I asked, concerned.

"Zack. Here's why _I'm_ sad..."

* * *

Author's Note: Still not dead!! Also, new story in the works: Week-In Review, taking place after the events of Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus. It's interesting to write, involves a spy infiltrating Avalanche's ranks. For what reason? Who knows! I'll let that cat out of the box when I feel like it :D But yeah, it's fun stuff. Check it out!


	27. Secrets revealed

"... Wow."

I hugged my knees, staring off into the distance, avoiding his eyes. It's a hard thing to keep a secret so life-changingly important, even harder to trust someone enough to tell them, and hope that their opinion of you won't change. At least, now he could see why it was such a huge deal, why I had to avoid Shinra, and why both my parents are dead.

"What's on your mind?" I asked softly. I was almost afraid to ask. Afraid that his opinion of me did change, or that he'd turn me in to his superiors-

"Stuff. A lot of stuff," he said, muddled.

He became really distant. I slowly turned to look at him, and he had lines of panic in his expression. He made me worry, and I felt like I should get ready to run. Suddenly, his scared blue eyes snapped to lock with mine, and triggered my fight-or-flight instinct. In the same moment I tried to get to my feet and jump off of the slide, he had encircled his arms around my shoulders tightly. I had already shifted my footing to leap away though, and I screamed as we both slid and tumbled down into the sand.

"Aeris! Are you crazy?"

"Zack, what are you-?"

"Whoa. What's happening here?"

I fumbled my way out from underneath Zack and he got to his feet to face the owner of the voice. It was one of Tseng's Turks, the redhead. Zack looked angry when he saw him, and held the hilt of his sword, waiting for someone to make a move. I took a stance a good distance behind Zack, just in case I had to run from either one of them.

"Reno. What the _hell _are you doing here?" Zack demanded angrily.

"Jus' passing through, what the hell are you kids up to this late at night? Alone in a park, apparently rolling around in the sand?"

I blushed furiously as I shook the sand from my dress, still unnerved by the two of them. If it was on Zack's mind to bring me back to Shinra, Reno's standing orders were to do the very same, and I didn't think I had a chance at evading the two of them. "We-we're not doing anything."

"I heard you scream, little lady. Does your mother know where you are?"

Strange. I straightened to examine him. He had a bruise around his eye that was just starting to darken and his hair and clothes were a mess, and the bits you could see of his arms and neck were scratched. He looked like he'd been in a vicious fight.

"Aren't you a Turk?" I demanded.

"I'm off-duty."

"Turks are _never _off-duty."

Reno laughed. "Who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter, but... Why do you even care?"

"What do you mean, _'why do I care'_? I heard a lady scream, so I came running. Thought I might get to save a pretty girl tonight." He took a challenging look at Zack. "Do I need to?"

I looked at Zack, who was pretty fixated on Reno. "Uhm, we're okay, I think. Thanks," I said. It felt weird to say that.

"All right. I'm out then, g'night." Reno slipped his hands into his pockets and with a nod, turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" I called, running ahead of Zack. "Reno?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

"Why? I mean... You _know_, right?"

"Yeah, well..." he shrugged. "I might've finally learned my lesson not to mess with Tseng's business... Well, maybe not. But I'll turn the other way for a bit, I know how important you are to him now, and I think I owe it to the back of my head to be a good little Turk for a while" he smiled charmingly. I worked hard to stifle a giggle, I was the one who'd hit him some weeks before.

"Thanks, Reno."

"Hey now, anything for a pretty face." He took my hand and kissed it with a devilish grin. "Maybe when you're a little older I'll take you out on a date, show you a _real_ night on the town. For now though, you should probably get back to Romeo before his jealousy kills him," he finished with a wink.

I giggled and waved goodbye, then skipped back to Zack, almost blanking on all that had happened tonight.

"Aeris, you sure he's okay?" Zack asked.

"Well, he did look a little beat up. I meant to ask why-"

"No, I mean... Is it okay that he knows?"

"I don't know. He knows, because he's one of the people chasing me, but he said he was going to look the other way, at least for a while," I said. I kept my distance from Zack though, and cast him a cautious look. "I'm not sure about _you_, though."

"What do you mean?"

"What were you trying to do? Scared me. I wasn't sure if you were-"

"Oh. No no, I was just-." He looked pretty shocked, probably worried about what I thought of him jumping on me like that. "Here, can I try again?"

"Depends what you're trying," I said, hands to my hips.

He smiled and held his hands up in the air, walking slowly towards me. When he got to me he slowly moved to wrap his arms around my shoulders in a comforting hug. When I decided it was non-threatening, I returned it, and he stroked my hair gently.

Zack cleared his throat. "I was just going to say, that I want to protect you. For as long as I'm in Midgar, I'll be your bodyguard, and make sure that those lunatics don't get you, okay?"

I spoke over a sob into his chest. "Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much."

* * *

"Why didn't you come out of the shadows, you freakin' spook?" Reno spat.

"As I told you before, if the opportunity makes itself available, I like to observe my enemies before leaping into battle," I smirked mischeviously. We made our way through the slums to the train station, to go back home for the night. I wanted to go in early for training, and Reno had sobered up remarkably fast and decided he wanted to go home.

"Yeah, well you still could've helped me when that blonde _psycho_ sobered up and tore me a new one, _Sephy_," he said disdainfully.

"I was busy _observing_. Now I know her tactics, and that she's not afraid to scratch and bite."

"Ugh. Don't remind me. I think I still taste blood." He spat off to the side again. "Say, what's the deal with you and those two? Zack's like, your _only_ friend, right?"

"While I'm sure that's a stab at my lack of a social calendar, I appreciate that you don't count _yourself_ to be one of my friends."

"Why haven't you two hung out recently? And didn't you bring that girl to the dance a while back?"

"I've been busy."

"Doing what?"

"Solving a mystery." I grinded my teeth slightly at my next thought. "Zack knows, you've _always_ known, but no one's bothered to tell me the big secret as of yet."

"You know I can't, it's classified, man. Ow, my shoulder's going to hurt for a week," he said, massaging his right shoulder with the opposite hand.

"I just need to find out."

"So, when you said you were observing your enemies, who did you mean in the park just a few minutes ago? Zack or Aeris?"

"Perhaps both now. I'm not positive, yet."

"... Dude, I think this is a lot less complicated than you make it out to be. This stinks of one of those 'my best friend stole my girlfriend' scenarios, and you need to get over it and move on."

"Would you like some broken ribs to go with your other injuries?"

"I'm just saying."


End file.
